Kıvanc Tekstil: Driving Sustainable Containerboard Innovation with AFT

Kıvanç Tekstil, one of Turkey’s leading textile producers, has expanded its sustainability-driven business model by entering the recycled containerboard market. Known for decades of high-quality woven fabrics and integrated textile operations, the company is now applying its innovative mindset with the launch of its greenfield PM1 packaging mill.

Started up in late 2024, PM1 produces 1,000 tonnes of containerboard per day at 1,100 m/min, supported by three OCC lines and a flexible machine capable of testliner, fluting, and specialty packing grades. The mill was designed from the ground up to deliver strong, lightweight, and differentiated products for customers in Turkey and surrounding regions.

A key enabler of this strategy is POM® approach flow system. By allowing four distinct fiber streams to feed the headbox, the POM system gives Kıvanç unique capability in producing specialty grades with excellent formation and performance.

Mill Director Faruk Özserbetçi notes that starting fresh allowed Kıvanç to rethink traditional processes:
“Channeling streams of fiber to the headbox in four distinct flows, sometimes including MFC (Micro Fibrillated Cellulose) puts us at the forefront in the marketplace. Choosing AFT´s POM system for our greenfield mill, combined with design features for specialty grades, was a bold decision. To sum it up, customers view our products as meeting their needs and consistently exceeding expectations."

The compact design reduces waste, improves cleanliness, and leaves room for future expansion. Production Director Ramazan Tekin says “Because of our POMp Degasser and other POM components from AFT, we waste nothing in the trim of our specialty containerboard grades. We found a way to deliver four distinct streams of stock to the headbox, and this gives our customers a competitive advantage, such as strength at lighter weights.”

The scope of supply

• 2 POMix stock processor systems 
• 7 MaxFlow multi-stage screening system ahead of the Headbox
• 2 POMp Degassers
• POMLock Drop Leg Collection system
• LC Cleaner System (part of a multi-stage low consistency cleaner plant for top and bottom)
• Project Engineering to fully optimize and reduce energy and water consumption
• Training, installation check, and commissioning/ start-up services

The project reflects Kıvanç’s broader renewable vision. Alongside textiles and packaging, the company generates more energy than it consumes through solar, wind, and biofuel sources and is moving toward zero emissions.

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