PBA, two paper mills, one goal: meeting our clients’ needs

PBA, two paper mills, one goal: meeting our clients’ needs

PBA proudly features two productive sites, over 300 employees, and three continuous machines, which differ in mechanics and design. These allow our group to approach different markets and ship our cardboard to more than 80 countries all over the world. The main uses for our paperboard are: paper for the production of spiral and in-line tubes, edge protectors, envelopes, laminated paper, layer pads, Tissue cores, paper for corrugates, and honeycomb panels. Our group’s strength is the study and implementation of unique systems: Cartiera dell’Adda features one of the largest trim widths (4400mm) for grey cardboard in all of Europe, with a production rate of one train per hour. ICP has two systems that can produce grey paperboard, but also white/white and white/grey, which is particularly appreciated for cores in the Tissue sector.

We put a significant amount of care into the technical specifics of our cardboard, notably: we can provide cardboard with a minimum weight of 140 g/m² and a maximum of 990 g/m², considering the three systems. Consequently, our paperboard’s thickness can start at 210 microns and reach up to 1500 microns.

We create dedicated products to meet all of our clients’ needs by altering certain characteristics.

Thanks to the end-of-machine rewinders, one of which was built by our group’s company Tecno Paper, and thanks to our external cutting centre, we can cut reels up to a minimum of 45mm, and create layer pads in sizes between 400x400mm and 1600x1600mm.

Another basic aspect that our group greatly focuses on is the Research and Development sector, with special attention on sustainability – we only use paper from domestic and industrial waste, with a pre and post-consumer ratio of over 4:1. In 2023, the group used about 300’000 tons of pulp for the production of our paperboard. But PBA’s “green” side doesn’t only come from raw materials – Cartiera dell’Adda features a biomass cogeneration plant which uses wood chips from public and domestic cleaning of forests and green spaces to produce energy and gas for paper production. Furthermore, Cartiera dell’Adda features an aerobic and anaerobic wastewater treatment plant, which allows us to obtain biogas for our productive site. The adjustments to the dryers and calenders of the ICP plant allowed for an increase in hourly production, and an increase in paper quality.
All of the productive procedures are improved to reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions, as well as using less clear water than the average – almost the entirety of the water we use is re-introduced into the productive cycle, thus reducing our environmental impact. The group also boasts various certifications, among the most important are: 100%FSC, ISO9001, ISO 14001, and ISO45001.

PBA’s products. The future’s keywords? Customize and diversify.

PBA products

“Let’s think of Ford’s first model. When Henry Ford built his first car, the Ford Model T, he said ironically ‘you can choose any color you like, as long as it’s black’, because he could only produce black cars. Today, instead, any car can be customized by choosing the color, the accessories, the interior, and much more.” Through this clear and straightforward car analogy, Roberto Severini, PBA Group’s Marketing Director, describes how Cartiera Dell’Adda’s and Icp’s approach to the client has changed over the years. Few and simple words that show us sharply what direction the two companies have taken: to meet the client’s needs, and to create something that is tailor-made for them adapting to their needs, not vice versa.

A different outlook, a more open one, that has allowed the companies to focus on an important aspect over the years: improve the quality of production by limiting the industrial approach, in favor of a more client-oriented attitude. Something which was not as present in Cartiera dell’Adda as it was in Icp. In fact, it was the combination of these two entities and their unique features that made it possible to develop a series of new products, by revolutionizing the companies’ strong points, and reinforcing the “niche” ones.  

The final result was significant, and the numbers can confirm it. As for sales, the Group’s main product at the moment is paperboard for tissue, which is made in Icp. The second one is paperboard for industrial tubes which is made in Adda, and the third is paperboard for edge protectors. “These are the first three which make up a very important share of our production – Roberto Severini explains – Together, in fact, they account for 60% of our business”. But that’s not all, following these products are tubes for thermocouple sensors, as well as paperboard for food use. 

Moreover, production is looking at new markets. A direction which is revealing to be a winning choice, although it brought a significant change inside the company organization, and in particular, a change in the study and design of the product, completely switching up the order of things. 
The first step, in fact, is to ask the client “What do you need? How can I create a product that is best suited to your expectations with two productive plants and three continuous machine?”. Only then can the work get started. In this perspective, Roberto Severini points out that marketing has chosen to follow a very clear approach: diversify. “

The market is so volatile that if we standardize certain products too much we risk missing out on important opportunities, and we become victims of the industrial pace of the market itself”.