It seems appropriate that the Ittihad Paper Mill (IPM) started out as a ‘greenfield project.’ That means a business built from scratch, without nearby competitors; a blank sheet of paper, in other words. Slowly but steadily, IPM is making its mark, through innovation, a commitment to sustainable production and a coherent shared vision. Rabih Elassadi, Operations Director at the mill, let Hannah Barnett in on the details.
There were sceptics who did not believe IPM would work. Establishing facilities in 2016 at a 250,000 square metre site in Abu Dhabi, IPM is the first printing and writing paper production facility in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
Catering to the growing regional demand for paper products, it also serves the international markets, offering a full product range across grammages, shades and sizes.
“The main idea behind it was to produce locally, trade internationally, and try to
diversify the local produce of the country,” said Operations Director Rabih Elassadi. “The UAE has a world-class infrastructure and an integrated transport and utilities network: We simply wanted to utilise these infrastructures, provided by the UAE government, and reach markets worldwide. For many people who are not familiar with the UAE, they think we were crazy for thinking of making paper in the middle of the desert.”
A challenging start
The company’s inception was financed by four banks, along with external funds from the EU. This gave credibility to the project, recalled Mr Elassadi: “They checked our concept model, and the strategy that we have. And it was verified that the concept works well. When we started, the concept was ready to prove itself.”
IPM could not have foreseen what was around the corner after it finished commissioning test trials in July 2019. The mill was poised to begin commercial production in January 2020.
“That was the worst time for us to start because in March 2020 the pandemic hit,” recalled Mr Elassadi. “It was a complete struggle, opening such a facility with all sorts of restrictions especially in the supply chain.”
Of course, it was not merely the restrictions themselves, the demand for paper
also dried up overnight. Mr Elassadi went on to describe the landscape at that time: “Offices were closed, universities, schools, everything was closed. There was a huge struggle on paper demand worldwide. The world’s supply chain was interrupted. There were lots of challenges.”
The long-term impact of the pandemic, however, has proved to be less a fatal wound, more a papercut. Despite the early turbulence, the company is doing well. IPM’s market share is about 35 –40% in the region. “We have reached over 70 countries since we started,” revealed Mr Elassadi. “This year, we expect a total turnover of around $300 million. This is even a conservative estimate, but it will be around that, dependent on the price of paper.” Fluctuation in the currency exchange is one of the primary challenges these days, he added.
Sustainable solutions
How have they done it? The pandemic aside, the question of ‘making paper in the desert’ still loomed. One of the key elements of the company’s success lies in a sincere and far -reaching commitment to sustainability.
“Paper is always seen as the business that is destroying woods and reducing forests around the globe. This is misleading,” Mr Elassadi said. “We source our raw material only from sustainable resources from suppliers who are FSC certified.”
The paper produced by IPM is designated ‘wood free’, made from pulp sourced from sustainable forests, strictly in compliance with global environmental standards. It is the utilisation of this pulp that gives the company confidence in its environmental credentials.
As Mr Elassadi explained, a huge number of trees are planted in replacement of those
that go into the pulp: “People who are into the production of the wood pulp have to make sure that they will have more trees later on. So that's why you will see the forest is increasing rather than decreasing because the industry must sustain it. Trees are a crop. It's like potatoes; farmers grow potatoes, they harvest potatoes, and then they plant more potatoes, otherwise the farm will be gone. Basically, paper is the same thing.”
A conscientious future
Being one of the first paper mills established in an area with a water deficit, IPM has a responsibility to conserve resources. But it wants to do more: this
is where the effluent treatment plant will come in. Efficient water usage, combined with effective effluent treatment plants, ensure the company is using less water and recycling as much of it as possible.
Mr Elassadi elaborated: “We are now in the process of investing in recycling 60-70% of the water that's the discharge from the plant. This is essential for us because water is a scarce resource in our area. We are in the final stages of securing the funding for the effluent plant. Execution should happen very soon. We are negotiating the terms.”
Another path the company look to be heading down is in the field of automation and digitisation. Even though, as Mr Elassadi remarked, ‘paper is paper’ and the end product will be essentially the same, the process can be streamlined to be more efficient and cost effective.
The embracing of automation is especially beneficial when acknowledging the fact that IPM is the only printing and writing uncoated woodfree mill in the GCC and is the largest in the entire MENA area. “There are zero producers in the region,” Mr Elassadi stated. “The companies that are here are basically people who get the paper and cut the paper, but they don't produce it. We refer to them as converters.”
Perfect partners
Like any successful business, another key element to its success lies in the network of suppliers, or ‘partners’. “For me they are partners not suppliers” stressed Mr Elassadi. “We have Valmet as the paper machine supplier and BW Papersystems in our converting facility, where we cut the paper. There is also Solenis, our chemical supplier who is responsible for the overall chemistry at our plants.”
Mr Elassadi painted a picture of a mutually beneficial and synergistic partnership,
based on striving to be better: “We don't try to change those guys, but we always like to challenge them.”
He described the rest of IPM’s staff in similar terms: “We have a very experienced and diverse team. We have people from all over the globe, all with the same passion for producing paper. This is what brings us together, irrelevant of colour, irrelevant of background, or religion. We all work together with the same respect. And we are working towards creating our own success story.” IPM may have started with a blank sheet of paper, but the company is now firmly making its mark.
