Lucca, Italy, 27 February 2012 -- Toscotec has been awarded a contract to deliver a major rebuild of the Sipat S.A PM 2 tissue machine in Meknes, Morocco. The start-up of the rebuilt machine is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2012.

Sipat S.A. - Societé Industrielle Des Papiers Tissues - established in 1978, is owned by the El Kendouci family. With a production capacity of 16,000 tons/year, the company can satisfy the demands of the Moroccan market, which is capable of absorbing 70% of SIPAT's capacity, and exports the rest to Senegal and Tunisia. The production range includes mainly facial tissue, then toilet rolls, napkins, and kitchen towels.

Toscotec 's delivery includes a major rebuild of the original Toschi sloped wire forming section, which will be replaced with a crescent former, a rebuild of the existing approach system and of the felt run, and a doctoring system. Electrification and a new machine control system will complete the package. The project will be handled on a turnkey basis, including dismantling of the existing equipment, installation of the new machinery, start-up assistance, and training services.The new machine parts will be designed for an operative speed up to 1300 m/min with a reel width of 2750 mm.

The purpose of the PM 2 rebuilding is to meet the growing market demand in terms of product quality and production capacity, and to reduce energy consumption.

In 2009, Toscotec already successfully completed the dry end modification of the same machine with the installation of a new steel dryer and relevant accessories. This last investment brought Sipat enormous results in terms of energy savings, and increased output by 30%.

Driss El Kendouci, managing director, expects Sipat growth in the tissue sector to be 8%-10% and that this new investment will have a fast pay-back. "There has been an evolution", he said. "In Africa, there has been more demand for quality, whether from Westerners driving the need, or from more and more people moving from the countryside into cities. Sipat is ready to afford this process and Toscotec is the ideal partner to us for persisting on it."