The commissioning phase of the recycled fibre facility Unifibres at Essity’s Prudhoe mill in the UK has begun, but the company has decided to postpone the site’s official opening event as further optimisation work is required.
A company spokesperson told EUWID that start-up activities at the plant commenced in mid-March. The machinery is already operating and recovered paper is being successfully recycled. However, Essity said that minor technical issues typical for projects of this size and complexity have been identified and are currently being addressed.
Essity is now focusing on implementing the necessary improvements in the coming weeks before ramping up the installation to its full operating capability. Against this backdrop, Essity has postponed the official opening ceremony that had been scheduled for 9 April 2026.
A new date has not yet been set, as the company aims to ensure that commissioning progresses without further delays.
Tissue production at the Prudhoe mill continues unaffected by the ongoing optimisation work at the recycled fibre facility, the spokesperson said.
The new Unifibres complex replaces an older recovered paper processing plant at the site. The investment is intended to reduce Essity’s reliance on market pulp and higher-grade recovered paper by enabling it to use packaging ("brown") recovered paper grades in tissue production. Construction of the plant started in 2023.
