Niemi firmly asserts that softwood pulp is an absolute necessity to guarantee the runnability of the converting lines. COOL RUNNINGS Different understandings of the terminology of paper making also made themselves felt during the program. “It was an important realisation for us,” says Niemi, “when it became clear that ‘strength’ means different things for different people. For the converting operations it’s runnability, meaning no breaks when you are producing the paper. Then, for the paper machine operators, it’s a different kind of tensile strength. There are different definitions right down the value chain.” differences when making the end product.” Niemi points out that even if the base paper itself has similar characteristics – meaning its tensile properties or strength, for example – once you begin to convert this to create the end product, the difference the raw material base makes on the quality of the tissue base paper becomes clear. This is particularly evident if embossing is done on the end product. Niemi firmly asserts, based on the program’s findings, that softwood pulp is an absolute necessity to guarantee the runnability of the converting lines. For tissue makers, securing the efficiency of the complete production process is crucially important. “The whole thing needs to be running as efficiently as possible – while reaching the desired end product characteristics at the same time, of course – and softwood pulp is one of the key contributors to that,” he says. WORLD PULP&PAPER 21 Figure 3. For the last two years, Metsä Fibre has been undertaking an ambitious development project to increase their competences in the field of tissue-grade pulps.