Supreme quality with unbeatable absorbency and softness

Advantage ThruAir Technology

Advantage™ ThruAir® (TAD) Technology for structured tissue delivers the highest rate of absorbency with the lowest basis weight of any comparable tissue product on the market today. It is particularly suited for production of superior quality bath, towel and napkin grades from virgin or recycled pulp.

QUALITY

Highest absorbency to bulk ratio

Highest softness to bulk ratio

EFFICIENCY

High machine efficiency

Highest production speed

Sustainable approach

FLEXIBILITY

Flexible for all kinds of ultra premium products of facial, bathroom tissue, towel.

Wide range of sheet basis weight and furnish strategies

Suited for production of superior quality tissue

TAD products have become the preferred choice for consumers around the world. Softness, strength, bulk and absorption are all highly valued products features. The Advantage Thru-Air (TAD) Technology provides these desired quality properties and can cater for all production volumes. The base principle of the TAD technology resides in vacuum dewatering of the sheet, molding of the sheet into a structured TAD fabric and drying the sheet by forced air 

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The key to high bulk

The tri-dimensional fabric design and rush transfer capability associated with TAD manufacturing allow the tissue producers to dial-in sheet properties such as absorbency, bulk and softness. The TAD process avoids the destructive effect of wet pressing as opposed of other tissue manufacturing processes. This is key for a high bulk fully structured sheet. 

 

The engineered sheet 

In addition to all the normal conventional machine tools, the Advantage Thru-Air machines also offer the opportunities for rush transfer, molding, and a variety of TAD fabric styles. These all help to engineer a distinctive product with high consumer appeal. 

Reduce fiber usage up to 40%

Valmet continuously seeks for improving performance and efficiency of its Advantage Thru-Air technology with respect to fiber usage, fiber recovery, energy recovery and for reducing the emissions. The flexible design of the TAD air systems allows the manufacturer to adapt the technology based on energy cost, source of energy available or to minimize carbon emissions of the process. 

The TAD technology can reduce fiber usage in the final product by up to 40% in comparison with a conventional tissue sheet depending on grade produced, fabric design and strategy of operation.  

In comparison with conventional machines, Valmet TAD machines are known for the ability to deliver products with superior sheet properties and improved fiber utilization rates. This translates into higher value products with lower fiber costs per case. The numbers below are expected after converting operation. 

Fiber reduction (TAD vs DCT paper)

~35%

Towel product

~41%

Bath product

3.5x higher

Caliper

The Advantage ThruAir family

The Advantage ThruAir 100 and 135 are entry level machines that are best suited for the small or medium sized producer or those exploring emerging markets.

For large scale producers in mature markets the Advantage ThruAir 200 can provide the very high output requiredThe concept is at the same time flexible and machines of varying width and output can be customized to suit producers’ special needs.

All members of the ThruAir family can produce top quality ultra-premium products. Further, energy consumption is as low as 3800 kWh/MT (depending of furnish/grade and operating conditions). This includes thermal (gas steam) and electrical.

 

 

  Advantage ThruAir 100 Advantage ThruAir 135 Advantage ThruAir 200
Thru-Air dryer 1 x 16 ft TAD 1 x 16 ft TAD 2 x 16 ft TADs
Yankee 18 ft 18 ft 18 ft
Basis weight range 15-45 gsm 15-45 gsm 15-45 gsm
Max reel speed 1600 m/min 1600 m/min 1600 m/min
Max sheet trim 2.8 m 3.6 m 5.6 m

With close to 60 TAD machines, rebuilds and air systems installed worldwide, we are uniquely qualified to bring this innovative technology to you at the lowest possible overall cost.

Reduce your emissions

Valmet TAD air system can be configured to maximize energy recovery. It can be adapted to use a combined heat and power unit or used in conjunction with steam coils. We utilize the best in class burner technology, specially developed in partnership with a burner supplier, to reduce your emissions by 95% compared to the traditional technology.

The importance of the Honeycomb roll

With more than 110 tissue TAD Honeycomb rolls delivered in the tissue industry, our unit located in Bidderford, USA has established itself as the leader in this field and developed a deep understanding of the technology. Key factors such as airflow uniformity, sealing and structure strength are very important for good operation of the TAD process.
Reliability and longevity are non-neglectable aspects when it comes to designing a TAD roll. The Valmet Honeycomb design has multiple references that have been in operation for more than 40 years which confirms its strong design.

A dialogue with data to improve the performance

Valmet Industrial Internet offering covers an extensive range of solutions and applications for tissue mills in order to optimize the full scope of the production. The data driven applications and services support you throughout all the phases of the tissue machine’s lifecycle.

As a start we normally explore the potential of utilizing data through a data discovery process. Then we can evaluate what applications within production capacity, quality, energy efficiency and reliability, are beneficial for your operation. Further, our expertise is easily available for you through the Valmet Performance Centers (VPC). Our specialists have a deep understanding of machinery, processes and automation and with connections and tools, we can offer the needed remote support and guidance without delay from our 8 centers around the worlds.

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