You may have referred to it as the “tissue plant” in Barton, but making tissue is only one of the components of what leading hygiene and health company Essity provides, both locally and to its global customers.
 
Essity (previously known as ‘SCA’ until 2017) has been a member of the Cherokee, Alabama community for nearly 16 years. Its 1.2-million-square-foot location in Barton employs nearly 500 Shoals area residents and makes the Tork® brand of paper products (tissues, napkins, paper towels). The facility—built in 2003 as a brand new ‘greenfield’ site—does it all: manufacturing, converting and, distributing Tork products throughout the region.
 
You can find Tork products in places around the Shoals area like Pizza Hut, Burger King, Dairy Queen, Chick Fil-A, and other local food service businesses. Tork products are also used in local schools, businesses, sports arenas and other large venues. Steve Edwards, the Essity Site Manager for Barton, is passionate about the Tork paper products we use every day, but even more so, he’s passionate about the people who make these products and the surrounding community Essity serves.
 
“We have a fantastic crew at Barton,” said Edwards. This past summer, Essity’s Women of Steel group approached Edwards about hosting over a dozen young women from the FAME Girls’ Ranch in Russellville—one of four Alabama Sheriffs Boys’ and Girls’ Ranches in the state—to talk to them about their career aspirations and educate them about career opportunities for women in manufacturing.
 
“This group took it upon themselves to educate women in our community and give them a leg up for career opportunities,” said Edwards. “We want to reward employees like these that go above and beyond. That’s why we implemented our annual, internal AmeriStar Awards, where employees are recognized for making the extra effort in areas like community involvement, safety, sustainability, cost savings, and project delivery. Recognized employees from our North American sites are invited to an all-expenses paid recognition event each year. Our employees are the strongest asset we have, so we want to show that through our incentive programs at our Barton facility.”
 
Essity, headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, with North American headquarters in Philadelphia and operations in nine additional states across the U.S., including Alabama, is also proud of its commitment to sustainability—globally, locally and nationally.
 
“In Barton, we buy in excess of 200 thousand tons of recycled paper per year, of which 65 percent goes out as finished product.  The residual material has been developed into an alternative material for our local farmers to use on their lands for nutrient supplements. From beginning to end, we are able to utilize almost all of the recycled material we take in,” explains Edwards. Essity also has a dedicated team of ALPALS ‘Litter Getters’ who have been conducting roadside litter clean-ups since 2003.
 
Last June, Essity’s Barton site received a Safety Commendation from the Alabama State Legislature for its long-standing record of service, sustainability focus, and commitment to safety.
 
Essity’s Barton facility expands well beyond its colloquial title as the Shoals-area “tissue plant.” With its devotion to the Shoals community, its employee recognition program, and its commitment to reducing its carbon footprint, Essity is more than just a business. It’s a model for business done right.