Toilet roll is a soft tissue paper used in homes, offices, schools, hotels etc. to maintain personal hygiene after human laxative or other organic processes. However, it can also be used for other purposes such as absorbing spillage and decorative purposes. The product differs in texture from other tissue, and is formulated to decompose in septic tanks, whereas some other bathroom and facial tissues do not.
THE OPPORTUNITIES
In order to encourage local production of the product and create the much needed employment.
The federal government of Nigeria banned the importation of finished toilet roll, serviette and face tissue in 2004. Though local production has long commenced, the demand is still very high, superseding the supply by wide margin.
About 800 million units of the product are required annually by Nigerians out of which local production can only meet about 105 million units. This wide margin in supply provides investment opportunity for savvy investors like you and I to exploit.
Opportunities also exist for the exportation of the local finished product to other countries. Nevertheless, one could also make money recycling waste paper into jumbo reels used as raw material for the production of toilet rolls.
THE PRODUCTION PROCESS
Wood Pulp and Dye
The first step in the process of making soft tissue paper is creating paper pulp, which can be generated from recycled materials or new ones. Once the fibers are mixed with the wood pulp, they are bleached and then washed. The fiber is then placed in a mixing tank where the manufacturer adds any components that may be needed, such as dye. Tissue paper used for household purposes is normally dyed white, while decorative paper can be mixed with an assortment of dye colors.
Pressing
Once the pulp is ready, it is pressed through two pressure rolls so that a majority of the moisture is squeezed out. Sometimes the pulp might be pressed only between two rolls for thicker paper, and other times it may undergo the pressure of multiple rolls for thinner paper. This leaves the pulp in a manageable consistency for the next step, which will completely dry it out and scrape it down to a thin sheet.
Creeping
The pulp is processed with a Yankee dryer, a drying cylinder heated by steam. This dryer puts the pulp through a process called creping; hence the term "crepe paper." The hood above the roller dries the pulp with a forceful heat as the roller turns and a fine blade scrapes the tissue down to the soft, desired thickness. The tissue does not get completely scraped away, because the roller is first sprayed with adhesives.
Reeling and Cutting
The long length of paper is reeled and cut with a machine, such as the Advantage Soft Reel, into appropriate lengths and sections after it is dried and thinned. Throughout the process of making soft tissue paper, there are times when the fibers are exposed to extreme heat. To keep the fibers from igniting, technology such as Met so's Advantage Wet Dust is used to keep eliminate air born dust from the area and keep the tissue machines clean.
THE PRODUCTION PLANT
The toilet roll production plant is a stationary one to be sourced locally. The plant is made up of the core cutting machine, core gluing machine, jumbo reel winding machine and band saw cutting machine.
The plant would be sourced from an experienced fabricator of plants in Nigeria, hence, the durability of the plant and spare parts would not be a problem.
