China has got the taste for tissue. From the limited quantity of low quality tissue produced by hundreds of small, highly polluting tissue lines just a few years ago, the country is now well on the way to having the world's most modern tissue machine "fleet". The last year or two has seen a strong investment push by the main tissue players in China. This leaves those on the second rung of the ladder with a challenge. If they do not invest, they risk being left behind as they cease to be competitive. The smallest producers really will struggle. They simply cannot compete in terms of quality and their processes, usually based on straw, bagasse or bamboo, put them on the wrong side of the Chinese Government's drive to clean up the industry. Some 400-500 paper mills of all descriptions are in the sights of the legislators, and the process of closing them down has already begun. As such, not all new machines in China are "new" capacity, but replace old, redundant lines.
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