TWM’s annual Projects Survey charts all new capacity being added, ordered or in final planning stages during 2025-2026, as well as noting any projects already planned for 2027 and 2028.
An impressive 109 new projects are listed in this year’s annual Projects Survey, which charts the accumulation of tissue capacity data collected across the global industry during 2025, and the projects expected to start-up in 2026 and 2027.
A further four projects are also already noted for start-up in 2028, totalling 98 project start-ups between 2026-2028.
This compares with the 132 projects listed in last year’s survey, which charted all new capacity being added, ordered or in final planning stages during 2024-2025, and projected for 2026 and 2027, the 108 projects listed in 2024’s survey, 102 tissue projects listed in 2023’s survey, 157 in 2022’s, and the 146 tissue machine projects that were listed in 2021’s.
TWM’s annual Projects Survey gains significant intel from the magazine’s six annual Country and Regional Reports, which in 2025 included in-depth interviews with tissue mill executives in Germany, Italy, Vietnam, Portugal, Mexico, and Japan.
Wide ranging news coverage throughout 2025 and into 2026 has also reported on the latest tissue machinery investments from across every continent. In many cases, information and investment strategy have come from the leading executives themselves.
While the survey represents a detailed snapshot of production strategies in all the major tissue regions, as always caution must be considered with the survey’s findings due in large part to its sheer scope. The figures included here are based on the best information provided, and this has included extensive research into the global tissue industry over the past few years, as well as a reliance on reliable responses from the many companies contacted to detail their present and future developments.
As is often the case, many of last years predicted start-ups have been delayed and are now planned for 2026, and some of the ‘new’ capacity announced this year includes some of last year’s estimate.
Additionally, some companies declined to comment on their projects at this time. There are also a substantial number of confidential projects, about which companies preferred not to disclose details.*
Notable points to include
China again leads the way with capacity expansion, reporting 45 start-ups expected and started-up in 2025, 2026 or 2027. This compares with the 62 projects – including TAD machines – that either came on stream in 2024, 2025 or early 2026.
Vietnam also reported substantial investment, with 10 machines due to come on stream in 2026, and one Andritz-supplied confidential PrimeLineCOMPACT line due to start-up in 2027.
In America, Valmet’s Advantage ThruAir line is due to come on stream in 2027 at Irving Consumer Products’ Macon plant, while Sofidel’s 75,000tpy Inola, Oklahoma-based Valmet-supplied Advantage ThruAir is due to start-up in 2028.
Two lines are due to start-up in India in 2026 at Jani Sales’ plant and Tamil Nadu Newsprint & Paper’s Tamil Nadu-based site.
Algeria’s Faderco Group / Warak is expected to start up a Valmet-supplied Advantage DCT 200TS at its site in Mostaganem in 2028, while Sarl WAFA Doux is due to start-up its Toscotec-supplied AHEAD 1.8 in 2026. The two start-ups will add 95,000tpy of capacity to the Algerian tissue market.
A total of 12 confidential start-ups are expected to have started up in 2025, or will be started-up in 2026, 2027, or 2028 by machinery suppliers Toscotec, Valmet, and Andritz.
