With the arrival of the AirMill embossing technology, product innovation also confirms its priority in Industry 4.0

“This year, It’s Tissue has been a great success for us. A number of customers came several times to visit us during the week, and this is proof that we have paved the way for a revolution in our industry. There are innovations that are now taken for granted, just think of all the technology and support Industry 4.0 now provides on all types of machinery. The keystone is product innovation! Our newly born AirMill embossing technology, which the authoritative RISI magazine has defined as the ‘top of innovation of It’s Tissue’, is the concrete answer to our continuous desire to innovate.”

What is this revolution about?

Several years ago when Gambini’s Sales Director Carlo Berti, whom I want to thank, talked about it, I immediately perceived it as something with incredible potential. If we could succeed in realizing it, we could significantly change the way we make tissue. I believed in it, invested in it, and now we are ready to proudly state that the era of AirMill has begun! The market is full of products with different characteristics, and to achieve them we have to start from the paper mill, that is from the reel of which the final product will then be made. Instead, AirMill can produce toilet paper and textured kitchen towel starting from a conventional paper reel, thus bringing a portion of the paper mill process into converting.
Up until now what you wanted to do in converting strongly related to what you had to do in the paper mill. With AirMill, everything now changes because – in short – it will be possible to produce a single reel in the paper mill, then in converting adapt the production characteristics to the specific needs of the market. In particular, with the AirMill process, textured-paper obtained from conventional tissue paper is more voluminous, with less fibers, and with the same tensile strength; moreover, the toilet paper also keeps its softness unchanged while for kitchen towel the absorbency increases.
The investment in the paper mill will therefore be more efficient, without compromising any aspects of satisfying the final consumer.

What do you mean by flexibility and optimization?

Flexibility translates into the possibility of efficiently passing from AirMill “OFF” configuration with a conventional product, to AirMill “ON” configuration, with a texturized product, and vice versa. For example, this provides to maintain the same diameter when producing, in the “ON” configuration, a roll with over 20% of paper savings, while keeping unaltered consistency and tensile strength. Same reel, different products: AirMill provides optimization of the integrated process. As a matter of fact, AirMill not only can reduce the consumption of cellulose, but also allows to concentrate the production of reels in the paper mill only into a few types.

Gambini researches, designs and manufactures technologically advanced machinery and converting lines

 

And after lt’s Tissue?

The success was so great that we decided to speed up the real estate recovery project of the very first Gambini factory, and today I am happy to announce that within the year we will inaugurate an innovative Gambini Pilot Center.
In this area we will configure a full-width 600 m/min Pilot line, complete with the AirMill system, both to support our customers in product development, and to give them the opportunity to appreciate the concrete benefits of this revolutionary technology. The plant will also be equipped with a packaging line useful to achieve minimum lots of finished products.

What can we still expect from Gambini?

Since its inception, innovation has always characterized Gambini as a machinery supplier that aims to give added value to our customers. Our commitment is to continue to innovate on this path started 150 years ago. A synthesis of this statement is represented by the new TouchMax.Twin turret-style quick change Embosser Laminator which maintains the flexibility and efficiency of TouchMax but adds the capability to work in Point-to-Point and Point-to-Flat configurations. The latter, together with the TouchMax family, is further confirmation that product innovation represents the future of our sector.

What do you think about Industry 4.0, so much talked about?

The Industry 4.0 is already a reality in Gambini and in the tissue sector, as it is for other companies in different markets. We are applying this philosophy both to internal processes, in order to make them increasingly efficient, and in our factories.
In this regard, we are continuing to develop software, with an important partner, capable of collecting data from machines and lines in operation in order to process them, organize, and make them available in real time. An APP will allow us and our customers to have a direct line 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This will allow us to pave the way for the development of increasingly accurate and intelligent plant monitoring systems.

Upcoming events?

We were present at the MIAC event last October in Lucca. Additionally, customers are always welcome to visit our factories in Italy, and our new service facility in the United States (Green Bay, WI). What else can I say? We are waiting for you.