Paper is manufactured on a Fourdrinier Machine, in a process invented in 1798 by Nicholas-Louis Robert, while working for the French paper mill owned by the Didot family. His machine used a belt of wire screen to produce a continuous web of paper. He was backed in England by the Fourdrinier brothers, who built and sold the first paper machines.
By 1810, the Fourdrinier brothers found themselves in bankruptcy and Bryan Donkin, their engineer, continued to improve the basic design. Soon he was successfully manufacturing a machine that mechanized the process of making paper. A water and pulp mixture flowed across a moving, vibrating web of woven wire cloth, forming a wet mat of interlocking fibers. From the wire, the newly formed paper transferred to a moving web of woolen cloth (the felt), before being dried.
Today a mixture of water and pulp still flows on the Fourdrinier wire, but the size and scale of today's papermaking operations bear very little resemblance to the early machines. The process is highly automated, with high-speed metering devices, incredibly refined chemistry, and precision built into every aspect of the operation.
But state-of-the-art equipment and ingredients are only as good as the people who use them. At Mohawk, quality is engineered into every phase of the papermaking process. Highly trained people, some of whom have been with Mohawk for over 50 years, add the dimension of craftsmanship and care that distinguish Mohawk papers.
By 1810, the Fourdrinier brothers found themselves in bankruptcy and Bryan Donkin, their engineer, continued to improve the basic design. Soon he was successfully manufacturing a machine that mechanized the process of making paper. A water and pulp mixture flowed across a moving, vibrating web of woven wire cloth, forming a wet mat of interlocking fibers. From the wire, the newly formed paper transferred to a moving web of woolen cloth (the felt), before being dried.
Today a mixture of water and pulp still flows on the Fourdrinier wire, but the size and scale of today's papermaking operations bear very little resemblance to the early machines. The process is highly automated, with high-speed metering devices, incredibly refined chemistry, and precision built into every aspect of the operation.
But state-of-the-art equipment and ingredients are only as good as the people who use them. At Mohawk, quality is engineered into every phase of the papermaking process. Highly trained people, some of whom have been with Mohawk for over 50 years, add the dimension of craftsmanship and care that distinguish Mohawk papers.