Tork manufacturer opens £30m recycled fibre facility to strengthen sustainable hygiene supply
Essity, the global hygiene and health giant behind Tork, has opened a major £30 million-plus recycled fibre processing facility at its Prudhoe mill in Northumberland, supporting the company’s position as Europe’s biggest user of recycled fibre in tissue production. Essity’s biggest investment in the UK for a decade, the opening will significantly strengthen the UK’s sustainable hygiene supply.
The opening expands Essity’s recycled fibre processing capability, increasing capacity at Prudhoe to more than 105,000 tonnes per year and bringing the company’s total annual UK recycled fibre capacity to approximately 190,000 tonnes.
The new Unifibres facility has been built next to Essity’s existing Prudhoe mill, the company’s largest manufacturing site in the UK and a key part of its European tissue production network.
The 4,150m2 facility replaces the former Unifibres complex with modern, high-efficiency technology designed to process a wider range of recovered paper, including lower-grade paper and board. This will help keep valuable materials in use for longer, strengthen domestic fibre supply and support more circular tissue production in the UK.
It will also improve the segregation of contaminants such as plastics, reduce the risk of waste being sent to landfill and support improved energy efficiency across operations.
The opening further strengthens Essity’s position as the UK’s largest user of recycled fibre in household tissue products and the leading user of recycled fibre for tissue production in Europe. The facility will support the sustainable supply of tissue products for professional hygiene brand Tork and consumer tissue brands Cushelle and Velvet.
The investment is the company’s largest capital investment across all five of its UK sites in the past decade, underlining the company’s long-term commitment to British manufacturing, sustainable hygiene production and the North East as a centre for technical development.
The facility will also provide a platform for testing fibre innovations that can help reduce reliance on virgin wood pulp and support the use of recycled and alternative raw materials in paper production, while maintaining the hygiene and quality standards required for essential tissue products.
A formal launch event will take place later this year. The opening was marked by a visit from Prudhoe Castle First School, with year 3 and 4 pupils invited to bring in paper recycling from home to be turned into toilet paper. Essity also presented the school with its own branded pack of toilet paper to celebrate the occasion.
Martin Hallissey, Site Manager at Essity’s Prudhoe mill, said: “The opening of this recycled fibre facility is a proud moment for everyone at Prudhoe. It’s a significant investment in our site and our people, and it strengthens our ability to source recycled fibre while improving efficiency and reducing waste. This facility puts Prudhoe at the forefront of sustainable tissue manufacturing in the UK.”
Olivia Slater, Vice President, Professional Hygiene at Essity, added: “Behind every reliable hygiene product is a supply chain that has to be resilient and fit for the future. For our professional hygiene customers, whether they are managing washrooms in offices, schools, healthcare settings, hotels or busy public spaces, they need products they can trust, from a supplier that is investing in more responsible ways to make them.
“This new facility at Prudhoe strengthens the recycled fibre capability behind our tissue production and supports the long-term development of our Tork portfolio. It gives us more flexibility to use recovered paper, keep valuable materials in use for longer, and support customers who want to make practical, measurable progress on sustainability without compromising on hygiene standards.”