AFT completes capacity and quality upgrade at Papiro Sarda mill in Italy
AFT (Aikawa Fiber Technologies) has successfully completed a pulping process rebuild and screening upgrade at Papiro Sarda’s mill in Sardinia, Italy, increasing production capacity and improving paper quality. The project further strengthens the long-standing cooperation between the two companies.
Papiro Sarda operates an OCC-based production line manufacturing testliner and fluting grades, as well as paper for packaging, converting and recycled graphic applications. Faced with growing market demand, the mill launched the project with the objective of increasing production capacity while simultaneously improving the quality of its finished products.
To achieve these targets, AFT carried out a comprehensive upgrade of the pulping and coarse screening process, incorporating advanced rotor and cylinder technologies. The scope of supply included a detrasher, an upgrade of the coarse screening system and new HB screen equipment, together with process and plant engineering, start-up and commissioning services.
Following completion of the rebuild, Papiro Sarda recorded a significant improvement in paper quality together with increased production capacity, allowing the mill to respond more effectively to market demand.
The investment is also consistent with Papiro Sarda’s commitment to circular economy principles. The company aims to maximise the use of recovered OCC collected through its own recycling activities and continuously improve the environmental performance of its operations, converting recovered fibres into high-quality recycled paper products.
“We are very satisfied with the results of this upgrade and the strong support provided by AFT throughout the project,” said Andrea Barsanti, Mill Director at Papiro Sarda. “The cooperation was smooth, and AFT’s expertise helped us achieve both our quality and capacity targets. As the process continues to evolve, AFT has worked closely with our team, transferring valuable know-how and ensuring that we have the capability to operate, maintain, and further optimize the system independently.”
A long-standing technical partnership
“We value our long relationship with Papiro Sarda and are proud to support their development,” said Francesco Pantanella, Applications Manager at AFT. “Our role as a trusted partner is to provide unbiased advice and tailored solutions that deliver measurable results for our customers.”
The successful project demonstrates how targeted upgrades to stock preparation and screening processes can simultaneously improve production efficiency, capacity and finished product quality. For AFT, the installation also represents another application of its process technologies aimed at helping paper producers optimise existing production assets in an increasingly competitive packaging market.
