Articles related to Georgia

DS Smith, a leading paper and packaging producer, and the University of Georgia are coming to the rescue of Rafinesque's Big-eared bats, southeastern gopher tortoises and other critical animal species that call southeast Georgia home.

Irving Consumer Products broke ground on the construction of their new $400 million state-of-the-art tissue plant in Macon, Georgia.

The Procter & Gamble Company and Constellation, a subsidiary of Exelon Corporation, announced the completion of a 50-megawatt biomass-fueled combined heat and power plant located at one of P&G's largest U.S. facilities.

Downtown Atlanta Marker Highlights Company's 90-Year History

WestRock intends to use the net proceeds of the offering to repay approximately $990 million of indebtedness.

Construction is expected to start this summer, a news release from Gov. Nathan Deal's office said, with completion expected in 2019.

WestRock Company announced that it is expanding its consumer packaging portfolio with the acquisition of Hanna Group Pty Ltd (Hannapak), one of Australia's leading providers of folding cartons to a variety of markets, including beverage, food, confectionary, and healthcare.

WestRock Company announced that it has entered into agreements to acquire substantially all of the assets of Island Container Corp. and Combined Container Industries LLC, which together are independent producers of corrugated boxes, sheets and point-of-purchase displays.

Graphic Packaging Holding Company announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Graphic Packaging International, Inc., has completed the previously announced acquisition of substantially all the assets of Carton Craft Corporation and its affiliate Lithocraft, Inc.

A workplace fatality at the WestRock Co. facility in Covington was caused by the paper mill's failure to maintain equipment, state regulators have determined.

WestRock Company announced that it has entered into agreements to acquire substantially all of the assets of Island Container Corp. and Combined Container Industries LLC, which together are independent producers of corrugated boxes, sheets and point-of-purchase displays.

International Paper unveiled a new flexographic printing press.

Graphic Packaging Holding Company announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Graphic Packaging International, Inc., has agreed to acquire substantially all the assets of Carton Craft Corporation and its affiliate Lithocraft, Inc.

WestRock Company announced the completion of the acquisition of Multi Packaging Solutions International Limited.

Conyers, Ga.-based Pratt Industries has opened a new recycling facility on Atlanta's westside.

A fire Thursday morning at the International Paper mill in Columbus has caused the facility to be evacuated.

WestRock Company that it has completed the sale of its Home, Health and Beauty business to Silgan Holdings Inc. for approximately $1.025 billion in cash (subject to post-closing adjustments) plus the assumption of approximately $25 million in foreign pension liability.

A ruling issued by Georgia Superior Court Judge Stephen Kelley has reversed a previous decision in state administrative court that required the Georgia Environmental Protection Division to issue a more stringent pollution permit for the Rayonier Advanced Materials mill near Jesup.

Christian Fischer was promoted to the post after a decade as executive vice president of the company's packaging and cellulose segment.

Pratt Display, a division of Georgia-based Pratt Industries, is expanding its distribution operations into a 360,000-square-foot building.

Sheet-break failures from heat, debris, web strikes, operator paper-hooks, coating splashes, sizing splashes, mount failures, excessive sensor bouncing and more are a thing of the past with RYECO's new Smart-ONE Break Detection System.

Schweitzer-Mauduit International, Inc. (SWM) announced today plans to rebrand all of its acquired company corporate brands in 2017, under the SWM umbrella to create a unified, global leader in the industries it serves.

WestRock Company announced that it has once again been named to Fortune Magazine's annual list of the "World's Most Admired Companies."

WestRock is leaving its longtime Norcross campus for one near Sandy Springs, the company announced Thursday.

Sonoco Products Co. will open a $20 million packaging center in Fairburn, Ga., creating 130 full-time and 465 part-time jobs.

Schweitzer-Mauduit International, Inc. (SWM) announced that it has purchased machinery to expand its capacity in filigreed cigarette papers for the Roll Your Own and cigarette manufacturing sectors in its Saint Girons, France location.

WestRock Company unveiled connected packaging solutions for smart products. These packaging solutions have been developed through a partnership between WestRock, EVRYTHNG and Digimarc.

Time and again, I have seen people conduct themselves in an exemplary manner throughout their careers, only to find themselves departing their places of employment in an untimely fashion. Once I went to work in a paper mill where this had happened en masse just before I arrived. The place was a mess. Whole departments had been eliminated and it looked as if the people had just left for a fire drill...

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In the vein of what we discussed last week, let's continue. An area where I think many fall down, especially if they are not used to being in this particular venue, is customer relations. When in doubt, defer to your customer...

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Quality comes in many shapes and forms. I want to talk about some of them this week...

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Sonoco, one of the largest diversified global packaging companies, has donated $50,000 to the American Red Cross to aid in Hurricane Matthew relief efforts in the Southeast.

Quality must not be an attribute that employees think can be turned on or off, dependent on time, place and resources. Apply the same quality everywhere all the time. Your business will thank you for it.

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An Atlanta judge sided with environmental groups in ruling that a pulp mill in Southeast Georgia discharges too much pollution into the Altamaha River, known fondly as "the Little Amazon."

Once in my career, a boss told me we were building too much quality into our products. He said we should provide only the quality the customer expects. That might be true if "extra" quality costs extra expense which you cannot recover. There is another way to look at this...

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*All else being equal and if you always behave in a legal, moral and ethical manner and you understand that the invoice printer is the most important machine in any enterprise. These are a given and you should already know them by now, if you have been following me for any length of time. After forty-six and one half years of observing modern business life, I think it does indeed boil down to two things, at least in large corporations...

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In a celebration with community leaders, Georgia-Pacific recently marked the completion of an approximately $40 million expansion at its Gurdon, Arkansas, lumber operations.

A recent study, done by Australian Bond University and the University of San Diego, of US CEOs in the supply chain industry found that 21 percent had "clinically significant levels of psychopathic traits" (psychopath: a person suffering from chronic mental disorder with abnormal or violent social behavior). Based on my 46 years in industry, I think they have nailed it, perhaps even gotten the number a bit low. So, this column is for the other 79% of you...

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Some, not all, young people in the industry often want to know what it takes to get into management. The answer is simple to state, a bit more difficult to execute. It is this: perform beyond expectations and become known for it. However, before we go further into this (likely next week), let's discuss some matters that you can use to test yourself to determine if you have the disposition to be a manager...

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Every facility in our industry has two types of assets--hard and soft. By hard I mean buildings, machinery, process control systems and so forth. By soft I mean people. When a facility produces products for a vibrant market (defined as steady or growing, not declining), which are more important to its success--the hard assets or the soft assets?

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As Corruption Month 2016 comes to a close, Pulp Rats Vel and Hae relate their experiences to Great Grandmother and the rest of the council...

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Louisiana is home to a significant portion of the North American pulp and paper industry, both mills and suppliers. When I think back to the business I have done over the decades in Louisiana, the volume is staggering (I received my first project in Louisiana in 1979 in Bogalusa). Right now several of our clients call Louisiana home as well as do many of our friends.

"I did not relate this story to the council, but I wanted to share it with you readers of Mr. Jim's column. It happened in a place where I lived and it is a bit complicated, for I do not understand all the things the Big Things do. Apparently, from the best I can gather, the Big Things make paper products for something called money. They hand other Big Things products they make and these Big Things give them this money in return. Why, I don't understand, but that is the way things seem to work..." Fos the Pulp Rat continues his tale.

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How many times have you seen a less than honest performer running out the back door as the investigators are coming in the front door? It happens quite often. Fos the Pulp Rat continues his tale...

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When the rats know we have to follow the rules, there is no excuse for us humans, is there?

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If you are a new reader, a bit of explanation is in order. In the trade journal business, at least in the northern hemisphere, August is the lightest readership month of the year. So, last year we tried something different to perk up August. We labeled it "Corruption Month" and let Fos, a pulp rat, write the stories. This was a huge hit. So, Fos is back again with more tales from the dark side of the pulp and paper industry and beyond...

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What is the impact of your mill on the world as a whole? The truth is we don't know--no one knows because there are simply bits of science yet to be discovered. It is likely, however, that the impact is not as great as environmental NGOs say it is and not as little as your CEO may concede...

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Today the number of regulations with which a business or even a homeowner must comply has reached an incalculable quantity. It is as if one were reading the Book of Leviticus and attempting to understand how one properly prepares for the Jewish Sabbath--times ten million. The regulators, bureaucrats and their contractors see it to be their sacred duty to write just one more regulation. This leaves us with an impossible task--how to comply with all the regulations and the new ones constantly being foisted upon us...

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Last week I gave you my definition of regulations: "Regulations are imposed by those who have artificially gained power on those who own assets." I would like to spend this column discussing those who have artificially gained power. There are three groups that come to mind when I think of those who have artificially gained power. They are environmental NGOs, lawyers and governments. Let's take these one at a time...

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This is environment/regulations month here at Paperitalo Publications. Issues surrounding the environment and regulations necessarily, unless you subscribe to conspiracy theories, involve the mitigation of risks. I'll tell a story on myself to set the stage....

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As we wrap up procurement month, I want to talk to you about performance-based contracts. These are very different from most other contracts. They can be complicated to write, but if awarded to a competent bidder, can bring guaranteed results...

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We talked last week about what is not in a contract and the premise that in the eyes of the law in most places, if money has exchanged hands you have a contract. This week I wanted to take a higher level look at what one might want to include in a contract. And, we'll further simplify it by focusing on a contract that is of the "time and material" variety...

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It is true that if you want something in a contract, you must put it in the contract. It is also true that there are things not in a contract that are implied. A basic principle in the laws in the United States at least is this: if you accept money to do a task, there is a contract. It may be a verbal contract, but it is indeed a contract. Unfortunately, such contracts, if they involve a substantial claim by one party against another, will be sorted out the expensive way--in court. Here's an example...

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It is procurement month at Paperitalo Publications. The mill-related troublesome issues that can be attributed to the purchasing department are myriad and legion. This is not to say that there are not great purchasing agents, but this is a focal point of interaction with outsiders. It can lead to grand levels of loss through misunderstanding, incompetence and fraud. I want to discuss two issues today, two issues that are critical even before one arrives at the content of purchasing documents...

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As we wrap up energy month, let's look at some completely kooky ideas for saving energy. The naysayers will have their negative comments, but keep in mind what looks kooky now may be the greatest thing in just a few years. After all, if a mere two hundred years ago had you tried to speculate on humankind's harnessing and use of electricity coming in just a couple of centuries, you would have been labeled a complete nut-job. So, here we go...

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The easiest energy savings follow the same philosophy as the easiest safety improvements. If it does not exist, it cannot hurt you or consume energy. Your first reaction will be this: we don't operate anything we don't need in order to run our facility. Really? I'll bet I could find all sorts of things to turn off or modify in your facility...

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Energy projects have to be looked at from many angles, particularly if they are a significant investment as compared to the depreciated value of the assets they serve. Don't develop a cost overhang situation that will sink the mill if you guessed wrong (and you can count on guessing wrong). This is why you have to develop several scenarios...

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If a mill is thinking about adding to their energy generation sources, that is by adding another boiler to their fleet--it is time to pause and take a deep breath. It is one thing if you are changing fuels, quite another if you are just adding to your total steam generation capacity...

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As we start Energy Trends month here at Paperitalo Publications, I want to make sure those of you with a few less years of experience than I have understand that energy is probably the most concomitant political and scientific subject you will ever face...

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If adding things makes a site more hazardous, taking them away should reduce the hazards. The problem is, that over time, we get used to the hazards around us and pay no attention to them until we encounter them in an accident-causing situation...

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Last week's column was titled, "Does Senior Management cause Safety Issues?" This week, I want to report on two incidents of which I have direct knowledge where safety missteps by plant managers got them fired...

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There are times when the demands of management, which I'll admit include demands to conduct all work in a safe manner, sometimes force us to forget safety and push on to achieve the business operational objectives. Further, there is often a fine line when one is ascertaining how to proceed. Nearly everything we do has a dangerous component to it...

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It is Safety Month at Paperitalo Publications. Let's start off by understanding two things: (1) serious, sometimes fatal accidents occur in our mills today, this is not something that happens in the past or somewhere else and (2) what we tell our fellow employees, through words, deeds and actions is extremely important to conducting operations in a safe manner.

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No matter the department, people who love their jobs and care for the assets are the best inside-the-fence chance your mill has at succeeding.
This goes double for maintenance.

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We humans have a propensity for collecting things; it is in our nature. There is an entire industry that has developed in the last three or four decades to cater to this mental disorder--the self-storage industry. You drive by self-storage units all the time--how many of them do you think hold contents whose value equals just one year's rental on the unit? Just because we are in the corporate world does not mean we do not make poor decisions about keeping junk.

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In decades past, in the United States, engineering students came off the farm. It was often a first step up for farm family children to go to engineering school. I was a classic example. I left the farm and became a mechanical engineer. Today, entry level personnel, even if they are trained engineers, often do not have the practical background we used to have...

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You will never know if a mill is well maintained if you follow the mill's "tour route"--you know, the route they keep clean and in great shape for executives, board members and customers. Didn't know that mills have "tour routes"? Have I got some hot property in Florida for you! In a mill that is in really bad shape, you won't have to go to the places I am going to tell you about, for they, that is those in charge, will never let you get there. Thus, the first clue you are in a poorly maintained mill is if you run into resistance to a full blown tour...

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Over my career, the best operating mills and companies I have seen have had very open communications. In these systems, there is a culture encouraging communications between departments and between mills. Conversely, the worst I have seen have been those with a fortress mentality, both internally to a site, between departments and externally to the site, between mills. The worst I have ever seen was in a company making grades in declining markets. The mills saw each other as every bit as big a competitor as the mills actually belonging to competitors...

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In some cases, I have seen mills go to great lengths to negotiate strong contracts for their long-haul freight, only to ignore what was happening on their own property, perhaps because of the location of their mills. You can't do much about the location of your mill, if you happen to have arrived after the grand opening. But you might be able to do something about the shuffling of trucks, containers and rail cars about your site...

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Railroads could advance a lot further in serving their customers--in our case, pulp and paper mills and their customers...

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When the Allies invaded France in June of 1944, they knew they would have to conquer transportation problems if they were to be successful in reaching their objective. Starting on 24 August 1944 and running until 16 November 1944, the Red Ball Express operated 5,958 vehicles and moved 12,500 tons of freight each and every day from the coast of France to the front lines.

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Where will we see automation next? Driverless trucks. They are less than five years away, folks. You can take it to the bank. The question is, will you be ready for them in your mill?

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Failure takes many forms--the budget was too low, the schedule was wrong, training was poor, markets were not as predicted and on and on and on. However, I have never seen a project fail badly if it had a good design basis...

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I once worked for a company that was proud of its capital projects and how the completion of such projects added to the assets of the company. The next company I worked for was proud of its return on investment (ROI) and had a philosophy of investing as little as possible in capital projects, for such investments drove down the ROI. This seems like a conundrum, but there are always other details that need to be explained to understand such matters...

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Capital projects consist of three elements--money, time, and space. Getting two out of three right is not too hard. Getting all three correct is like bowling a perfect game.

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A new year, and it is capital projects month on the Paperitalo Editorial Calendar. In my nearly forty-six years in this industry, I have seen capital projects from all sides. I have seen so many projects, from the truly frightful to shining examples, that I could write a book. In fact, I did. ... I want to start this month's columns with a slightly different slant. I want to begin by talking about the relationship between suppliers and owners.

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As we wrap up power and energy month here at Paperitalo Publications, remember this: unless energy prices change rapidly and drastically (either up or down), the actual practices of energy consumption in your mill are likely driven by your mill's culture more than any other parameter. Of course, this is true of nearly everything that happens in your mill, but it bears noting in particular as we look at energy consumption.

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Here in the pulp and paper industry, we have a difficult problem explaining our energy needs to the public. The scale of our facilities, the energy needs, just do not compute for the individual who is not regularly exposed to the scale of the business. This works to our detriment when the population puts pressure on the politicians. What to do about this?

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If you want to wring unpredictability out of your energy budget, you will push conservation no matter the price of your energy sources. Energy that you don't have to purchase (at any price) reflects energy costs that cannot destabilize your energy budget. It is as simple as that.

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Where can we use the force of gravity to eliminate energy costs?

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In fact, most of the time, that is exactly what large companies do. Earlier in this series I talked about the inertia of large companies and the inability for them to innovate. So, they do the next best thing--they buy it...

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The problem is, good innovation often looks like fiction on the surface. So, challenge innovation--challenge what will make it work. If it is in contracts, challenge the legality. If it is in products, challenge the science. And if it is in services, challenge the psychology that will cause people to behave in the manner that will result in the outcome predicted...

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In our own industry, we are known for inertia. We are not known for innovation, in fact, innovation is almost discouraged. We are known for politics. If I took off my socks right now, I don't have enough digits on my hands and feet to count all the bad managers I know in positions of power in our industry. Politics wins...

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Innovation has its problems, both from the practitioner and the manager perspectives...

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You probably have heard it said many times, "Quality is an attitude." This is correct. Quality, safety and housekeeping all go together...

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Don't let your photo screen you out of a great opportunity...

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If you look around, you'll find dimensions are everything. Don't casually dismiss them when you think about quality...

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Over the years, I have seen many attempts to obtain an advantage in markets by selling product based on quality. I have also seen many shenanigans as people try to short cut quality...

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I am often told by managers, "I can't get (fill in the blank) to do what I want done." Sometimes this statement highlights a training deficit. Sometimes it highlights a personality deficit. Sometimes it is a motivational issue. However, most often it is something else--these managers have not bothered to put themselves in the subordinates' shoes and look at the world from their point of view...

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Your subordinates came to you by one of three routes. You were promoted to be their boss, they transferred into your area of responsibility or they were hired in from the outside. How you treat them depends somewhat on how you acquired them...

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It is always management's fault, for by the very definition management is in charge. So whether your facility succeeds or fails, makes the best profit in its history, or is handing out notices that it is closing, it is management's fault...

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Unfortunately, management failures happen at all levels. Further, we often think we can solve them by buying something. Sometimes, as an alternative to spending money, we think we need to fire someone, or perhaps promote someone. Often the first thing we should do is simplify what we are doing and see if that is a solution...

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We would like your feedback on our first attempt at Corruption Month. We already have plenty of stories for next year. However, if you have any stories or any feedback, just email me at jthompson@taii.com. I'll be sure to keep them confidential.

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Any resemblances here to real people, places, institutions or events are purely coincidental. This is a work of fiction. Warning: this episode is quite graphic, especially toward the end. I tried to figure out how to tone it down, but in keeping with the flow of the story, I could not determine a way to do it. My apologies in advance if you are offended. We pick up where we left off last week, still in Chapter 5...

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Disclaimer: Any resemblances here to real people, places, institutions or events are purely coincidental. This is a work of fiction. We pick up where we left off last week, still in Chapter 4...

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Disclaimer: Any resemblances here to real people, places, institutions or events are purely coincidental. This is a work of fiction. Let's pick up where we left off last week, continuing in Chapter 4...

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Disclaimer: Any resemblances here to real people, places, institutions or events are purely coincidental. This is a work of fiction. Let's pick up where we left off last week...

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We often talk about corruption in mills as a thing of the past. I can assure you it is a matter in the present. We have recent correspondence with readers who have told us very interesting stories of things they say are going on right now as you read this. All of this leaves us in a dilemma, for if we tell the stories we know as straight up reporting, we could be sued, called into court and so forth. How to get around this is a problem. Fortunately, I started a book on this subject a while back...

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Probably once a month or so, I encounter a client who is having problems. Be it the width of paper rolls, the fit of a pipe, you name it, dimensions are a big problem. Many people seem to think that mere dimensions are beneath them, that having conquered calculus, such arithmetic is child's play. Let me tell you, it is not and dimensional mistakes, particularly on a construction site, are probably the largest cause of backcharges and overages. Face it: we live in a three dimensional world and everything has to fit...

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So, you have been informed that the board of directors, or other high ranking officials from headquarters, are coming to see your facility. The range of emotions at your site will range from snickers and sighs to people who are actually looking forward to this. May I suggest a neutral viewpoint be adopted? This is an occasion as important as any event in the life of any facility. It is somewhat akin to making paper--it is simply part of your duties, an important part.

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Whether it is a mill, a supplier or some other entity where a group of people gather to achieve objectives, culture matters. Getting it right is critical and difficult while getting it wrong is easy and disastrous. Fixing a broken culture is extremely difficult and sometimes nearly impossible. How do you know if you have a broken culture?

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I was taught long ago that one should build quality into a product, not inspect it in after it has been made. Makes a lot of sense, doesn't it? This is why I have always been troubled by the location of gauging systems on paper machines. Look at where they are: at the end of the machine, after the product is made. In the future, we may still have the old stationary gauges in their traditional locations, but I see something totally different right around the corner, perhaps as soon as in five years. What will it be?

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Everything goes on in your mill, from the honest and upright to the scandalous and felonious. It all happens, and if you don't think it does, I have a shiny bridge over the East River in New York I would like to sell you...

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No, not the Tropic of Cancer--the topic of Cancer. This column is off topic---but it is on topic. It's entirely possible that some readers of this column will get the news, within the next couple of weeks, that they or someone they know has cancer. If it jolts them out of denial, it was well worthwhile for all of us to spend a week of column time on it.

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I received such a great comment in response to my past two columns that we'll devote this week's column to answering it.

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If you are looking for a foundation upon which to build your employment principles, integrity is the place to start. How many actions have you seen in your place of work, mill, supplier or elsewhere, where if people had acted with integrity all would be well? How many disciplinary issues have you seen, which, again, if people had acted with integrity, would not have even been necessary?

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There are people who feel constrained to follow the rules and there are those who see an opportunity for the company and exploit that opportunity for the benefit of the company ... Also, you might want to take our quiz this week, if you are interested in improving your career in your mill.

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When it comes to robotic and cutting-edge technology, where do we stand in the pulp and paper industry?

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I am often telling anyone who will listen that there is a fine line between being "Unique" and being "Weird." Unique is attractive, weird is repulsive. Rush right over to the unique side, stay away from the weird. Don't be weird unless you are a rock star. It certainly won't work in the pulp and paper industry...

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The advantage children have over us older folks is they don't know what can't be done. Take a group of 40- to 50-year-old papermakers and put them in a room. Ask them to come up with new ways to make paper. If someone dares raise their hand and proffer a suggestion, it will be batted down by the rest of the crowd before they can complete three sentences. Experience and legacy investments prevent innovation. This industry is certainly loaded with both, but there are ways around these barriers...

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A person new to the industry was recently talking to me about a personal training plan for learning the ins and outs of manufacturing paper. Of course, the plan included a few short courses, reading some training materials and watching some videos. Then the discussion turned to self-designed on-the-job training. I asked where in the process was the starting point. The answer was at the wet end, more precisely at stock prep, and moving through the process. I challenged this...

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First, be absolutely sure you are correct in the path you are taking. Test this several ways. Checking with people you trust who are not directly involved in the outcome of what you are attempting to do is one of the best ways. Hint--these people are usually called mentors. Once you are confident of the path, move to a plan of action...

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In our mills, how much work, especially in maintenance, is caused by a lack of thoroughness? My wild guess is probably something in neighborhood of 25%. How many accidents are caused in our mills by lack of thoroughness? In the "Safety Show '15" on Pulp & Paper Radio International, I can think of several accidents we described that were the result of not being thorough. So how do we teach thoroughness?

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The best benchmarking I have ever seen is this: benchmark yourself against running flat out, 24/7. This should always be the goal, nothing else should count. Why benchmark yourself against your competitors? Are you telling me your goal is to become just as good as (not better) than your competitors? Some goal! What if your competitors aren't very good?

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Sometimes we get so caught up in doing maintenance on an existing asset that we cannot see that there is a better way. Sometimes we are trapped by the accountants and finance department--the old assets are still on the books at a ridiculously elevated value and cash is too tight to do things right. Nevertheless, you should raise a stink...

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It is time to stop playing chutes and ladders in our mills. This is not a game--lives have been lost and there is a potential for more lives to be lost on these dangerous structures. Start seriously evaluating every ladder and platform on your site today.

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If you are a CEO, I suspect you obey religiously all maintenance and recall notifications you receive for your Mercedes, Jaguar, or Tesla. Why don't you treat your operating assets with such care? Why do you let your mill operators get by with lousy maintenance practices? It couldn't be because you are afraid it will affect your bonus, could it?

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Two weeks ago we talked about the attributes of the person who fills the top job in a large pulp and paper company. This week, we are going to tumble a few rungs down the ladder to the role of the production manager...

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I have seldom ever seen managers, at the top or at the production level, who give enough credit to maintenance. A well-maintained facility is a dream to operate; a poorly maintained facility loses money, has poor morale, and is a safety nightmare...

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I hear lots of discussions these days along the lines of "what is wrong with this industry is it is run by a bunch of MBAs that don't know anything about pulp and paper." I will agree that the industry is run by a bunch of MBAs that don't know anything about pulp and paper but I will not agree that that is what is wrong with this industry...

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Yes, pulp and paper is alive and well and everywhere...

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Four decades ago, I went through some training that affected my view of everyone. I will not presume to be able to distill that intensive training and forty years' application experience into one Nip Impressions column, but I will give you some key introductory points.

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As we reported on Pulp and Paper Radio International this past Monday morning, last week, Governor Paul LePage of the State of Maine, said "[Verso] get out of the State of Maine." ... I have heard politicians make stupid statements before, but this ranks right up at the top.

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We will be going slightly off topic this week, unless your affiliation with the pulp and paper industry requires you to spend a lot of time on airplanes as I do...

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When I observe employees in mills today casually discussing problems, I see them behaving in much the same way as we did forty years ago. They seem just as lost on where to turn for help, just as confused on the path out of the current dilemma, just as mixed up when seeking a verifiable answer to a question. This astounds me...

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RPAs are not in the future any longer. I plan on owning a serious one before the end of the month myself. By serious, I mean one that can carry a payload of one or two cameras. Don't worry, I will not be bringing it to your mill--yet...

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There is a book called "Confederacy of the Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole. The book was published in 1980, eleven years after Toole committed suicide. It is set in New Orleans, and centers on a coterie of quirky individuals who essentially see the world as they want to see it. Of course, this is cockeyed by a normal metric, hence, the "confederacy of the dunces." I find the overarching theme of this book applicable nearly everywhere...

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I think there are more opportunities for accidents in pulp and paper mills this time of year as compared to any other. Why? Despite fewer participating than in the past, this is still the prime season for shutdowns around the world...

In this season of the year, we are often reminded of children, sitting on Santa Claus' (or Father Christmas') lap asking for things. We are amused by this, for it shows a child's greed and a lack of finesse on their part. We enjoy seeing these attributes laid naked for what they are. There are a couple of other places where one can see these same attributes, however, that are quite surprising and show us such tactics are not limited to the infant mind...

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Here are my recommendations for this year...

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This is a short but powerful column...

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We hear and read many pieces of advice on how to be a leader, how to develop your leadership skills and so forth. Seldom, if ever, have I seen anything on being an excellent follower. Why is this?

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An ill-tempered disposition is mostly self-defeating unless one aspires to a career as a pirate. Although, they have not been completely eradicated, pirates' numbers are small and their lifespans short. So, we'll assume you have other aspirations, perhaps even as a pulp or paper mill manager. I can almost guarantee that if you exhibit a "short fuse" and an angry temper, you'll not make your goal...

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Instead, make everyone a thought leader, at least part time. So, how do we make everyone a "thought leader?" It is really quite simple...

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At 432 Park Avenue, Manhattan, New York, a new building is under construction. It will be 1,396 feet tall. The top penthouse apartment has already been sold for $95 million. Couple this with idea we promulgated last spring at the Light Green Machine® Institute of the vertical paper machine. The idea is simple, yet revolutionary--build a paper machine standing on its head, forming at the top, winding at the bottom...

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If you work in production, as a majority of the readers of this column do, there are parts of your day dictated by the rhythm of production. Yet even in a production setting, there are still portions of your day in which you have some freedom as to pace. You might want to work on these...

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Last week we talked about inheriting messes. This week we will talk about fixing one you created. This is tougher...

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This is a subject we covered over a decade ago in this column. But we have many newer readers and the rest of us likely have forgotten what I said on the subject. It is worth going over again, and there are some fresh ideas to discuss, as well...

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If you don't think Ebola is going to spread widely and rapidly, I have a bridge to sell you in New York. As long as Ebola remains a contact-transmitted (not airborne) virus, the pulp and paper industry has an opportunity to help contain this disease.

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When I was a child, my dad taught me about guns and fire, and how they could be used for good or they could be misused. He never allowed me to have a BB gun--he thought they were ambiguous--is it a toy or a weapon? Like BB guns, we have some ambiguous tools today, too. And these tools can be used for good or they can be misused. I am speaking of Facebook and LinkedIn. Are they toys, weapons, or something else?

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When you run into vile behavior at work (or anywhere else), don't be intimidated. The person hurling invectives at you is most likely more afraid of something than you should be of them...

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Now, I will admit that everyone is not cut out to "be all that you can be." In the next breath, I'll express my belief that more are cut out to do this than actually do it, however. And I think we should promote this goal more than we do...

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If you will take a simple step with all of your work, your quality will go up, guaranteed. This will work even if you have been doing the same thing for a very long time...

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I know because I have been there--you probably have, too. It's that place where When One Thing Goes Wrong, Everything Goes Wrong (WOTGWEGW).

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First impressions matter, so let's examine this important topic from both the newbie's and manager's perspectives.

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I predict some companies will soon be using this tool on their company-issued phones despite its being designed for use by parents and teenagers. It may be effective for companies, but it will mask underlying management problems. Let's look at it from both sides...

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After 64 years of stumbling and bumbling about, I think I am becoming a mature adult in my thinking (and yes, there will be many that disagree). And I don't think this was a gradual thing, it is something that has only hit me in the last few years. The good news is that I am having fun with it. My admonishment to you is don't wait so long...

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Harry's means business for the packaging industry. If you are not familiar with Harry's just go to harrys.com. Yes, I'll give them a free plug. We also discuss safety this week...

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You may be very involved in your mill’s business. You may think you understand all the business aspects from raw materials to markets.  Yet, unbeknownst to you, there are always outside forces trying to find a way to influence your business, sometimes for the better, sometimes not...

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Government subsidies (as well as tax rates, regulations and so forth) are uncertain because they are not set by markets, but are set by shifting political winds.  Competitive markets as a price setting function are as reliable as gravity.  Government mandates, ones that extract money, ones that provide money are not...

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I have been dealing with suppliers for decades, and suppliers keep behaving in the same manner. That manner is this: they simply have a “tin ear” when it comes to being cognizant of paper machine downtime. I saw it happen again last week, but I can tell you stories that are decades old. In fact, I think I will...

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Scientific results and engineering results must be studied carefully and analyzed many ways in order to ascertain their veracity.  I fear in the world of today, we capriciously slap the words “science” or “computer analysis” on endeavors which need much further study.  Sometimes this is done through ignorance, sometimes maliciously. 

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We all do it, and I think more people are harmed by lying to themselves than are harmed by lies told by others...

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I have never seen an attitude that has led to so much failure in so many fields as that reflected by the title of our column this week.  Life, love, career, home, you name it — an attitude of refusing to believe a sequence of events that might happen is responsible for a great deal of personal and corporate misery. A few examples may illustrate the issue.

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I have decided the most important attribute to consider when evaluating employees is to divide them into “givers” and “takers.”

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Let's take a brief look at the history of transportation, and examine its future, including driverless trucks...

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The folks in the state of Maine are once again learning the lesson learned so many times by other communities.  That lesson is this: pulp and paper mills have a useful life, and eventually, that life is over...

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I will go out on a limb and say that the first pulp and paper mill attack by a Remotely Piloted Aircraft will be within the next 18 months to two years. You must start to formulate a plan—now...

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While our communications paper companies continue to look hard at finding ways to produce their products more economically, perhaps the biggest savings of all has been missed—how to make cheaper inks...

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While we at Paperitalo Publications strongly support the printed word, we recognize that electronic publications have certain positive qualities.  It is not lost on you, smart reader, that Paperitalo Publications publishes nothing on paper, except books.  Yes, we like the challenge—exclusively publishing electronically to the pulp and paper industry. However, there is one area that is developing into an area for serious discussion concerning the printed word.  That is in the area of young children, children under 3 or 4 years old. Evidence is building that allowing these young children excessive access to smart phone and tablets may be quite detrimental...

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In my four plus decades in this business, there has been one constant amongst all the variables.  That constant is: What should be our energy source?  In virgin pulp mills, the recovery boiler has been a steady contributor.  However, for supplemental thermal energy, or for thermal energy in mills without a pulp mill, history shows the answer is the flavor of the month. Let’s step back even further for a moment...

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The reality is none of us think alike. In fact, if you are a senior manager, you’ll want people of all kinds of flavors. Just don’t make the mistake of putting them in the wrong position in your organization...

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The recent news from France is that work emails are banned after 6 p.m.  Left unspecified, apparently this does not apply to some jobs.  Let’s hope the exemptions include the pulp and paper industry, unless you are so competitive you wish to knock off your French competitors by any means possible. This situation is indicative of a problem confronting employers since the beginning of the industrial revolution.  That problem is this—how do we get workers to exhibit and perform as entrepreneurially as they did when they were peasants down on the farm?

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Given that you lead a legal, moral, ethical life (I’ll fire you on the spot if you do not), the most valuable attribute I see in employees in any setting is the ability to get things done.  And, yes, we can add all sorts of qualifiers to this—on time, on budget and so forth.  However, stripped to its bare essentials, the most coveted quality in the workplace is the ability to get things done...

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A couple of weeks ago, a comment I made on the Light Green Machine Institute Weekly newsletter excited paper makers around the world. I proposed that we flip the paper machine on end, head box at the top, winder on the ground floor. Let's explore this topic in greater detail...

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Why do we make life so difficult?  If you think about it, mostly our own inventions complicate our lives. Life is simple.  Why isn’t yours?  

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Being competitive starts with the people who work for your firm.  A close second is the culture of your company.  Let’s talk about both of these.

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What if we can say the luxury goods market is completely bookended by paper products?  What if tissue and newsprint are the Alpha and Omega of luxury goods?  This is a story we should be running with—the luxury goods for everyone, regardless of income, are those made by our wonderful pulp and paper industry.

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Every time I see a new app, I have to try it out.  Yet, even worse than wasting my own time, I have a tendency to forward them to my employees.  If I don’t get this habit under control soon, I’ll have to hire an employee just to make up for the time I and my current employees waste trying to save time with new apps.  All of this is caused by my urge to be efficient. You may have a similar problem.  I’ll share with you the ways I propose to deal with it.

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If you are not where you want to be, I suggest you find a way to get yourself there.  Why be miserable?  I can attest to you, at the age of 63, that a 40-year career goes by in the wink of an eye.  Get yourself to a place you want to be.

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Folks, the innovations are coming fast and furious this year.  I’ll predict they will keep coming fast and furious, too...

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Amazon Flow is a game changer in many ways. What does this do for all packaging? My challenge is for us as an industry to become proactive, not reactive to change.  For instance, now that the Amazon Flow technology is out of the bag, how can we help them exploit it throughout the entire product chain?  

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I am a safe place to try out your resume.  I have looked at and worked on enough resumes that it just might be possible that I know what works...

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With developments in technology, I believe that retail and office space will to start to disappear in very rapid numbers. What does this mean for the pulp and paper industry?

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Should we open our mills to more scrutiny? I think so...

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The next time a rabid environmentalist gets in your face and talks about you, as a paper industry professional, destroying the earth, tell them you’ll be happy to follow their example as soon as they strip to their birthday suit, move to the Amazon, and adopt a diet of raw fish...

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Having spent the last forty years in pulp and paper, I’ll be the first to tell you the pulp and paper industry has been a surprise a minute. The most recent surprise has been the announcement that Verso is planning to acquire NewPage and what that has done to the PM40...

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All the technology exists right now to make this happen. Here is a chance for a paper industry centric company to become a real high tech leader recognized by the general population. How about it?

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Great people make great companies.  And like it or not, headhunters often stand between you and great people.  Set high expectations and build a long term relationship with a headhunter that is looking out for you.

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There is an old phrase of indeterminate origin, in which I will substitute one word for our lesson here: “The road to failure is paved with good intentions.” If you are going to do something, for goodness sake, follow through and do it.

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Nip Impressions is a teenager this Christmas. Let’s go back and look at some of the highlights, shall we?

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Often, I help people with their resumes and job interview skills individually.  In this case, we are going to have to do it in a mass training forum right here, right now.

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I used to use the term “creeping regulations” but no more—they are galloping now.  As I reported in PaperMoney® on Tuesday, the EPA announced last week it is looking at over 130 new regulations.  Other government departments in the US and elsewhere seem to be ramping up their regulation writing machines as well.

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Despite the overall employment rate in developed economies remaining stubbornly high, when it comes to trained technical professionals, especially in the pulp and paper industry, a shortage seems to exist worldwide. How did we get in this situation, which seems especially difficult in the United States?

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It is the responsibility of everyone in a leadership position, all the way through the board of directors, to make sure investments are well thought out.  Many day-to-day decisions can be corrected.  Facility location, design, and specifications are permanent.  They can cripple a site from day one and lead to an early demise.  These mistakes are fiduciary crimes...

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I am not talking about teams with assigned rolls, such as baseball, football, or, papermachine production teams.  I am talking about ad hoc teams put together to accomplish a specific task...

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We must communicate clearly and effectively, good news or bad, to our subordinates and superiors.  We must listen clearly and with focus to matters told to us.  And we must practice this all the time...

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If you have not been following closely, it is apparent upon examination that the current US administration is solidly focused on shutting down coal-powered boilers used for any purpose.  Your mill likely does not have a coal-fired boiler, but if it does, it is in the cross-hairs of the EPA.  Yet, even if your mill does not have a coal-fired boiler, it is likely your mill’s electrical supply has at least some portion supplied by coal-fired generating capabilities...

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The area which I have often thought would make the most sense to contract, yet is done only rarely, is maintenance stores.  There are several companies which do at least a partial job of providing these services, but I am not aware of any company that provides a full-service maintenance stores solution...

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There are many things that are a surprise, the seasonal change is not one of them.  It happens every three months and the September and March ones bring the most changes...

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Add a little insurance to your family’s livelihood.  Invest some time in becoming fluent in LinkedIn...

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It amazes me today to see what little adoption of certain principles regarding race and gender has occurred in the nearly forty years since I was introduced to them. I am especially surprised how far behind major companies who have obviously hired many people of color and many women are as compared to my own experience...

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Bottom line, suppliers and their representatives likely need more attention than you are giving them if you want to take advantage of what they have to offer you.  And it is a two way street—they will move mountains for you if you are in trouble, if you have treated them with respect. If you haven’t, you will not have that phone number you need at two in the morning...

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Will a pulp and paper science student in the United States today interested in pulping processes (not papermaking) be able to complete a normal, 40-year career in the pulping sector in the United States? I think the answer is a resounding, “No.”

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While we have developed and acquired all sorts of gadgets and techniques to improve maintenance, primarily by reducing downtime, especially emergency downtime, we still haven’t done all that well...

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With the annual termination season, December, less than 90 days away, it is time to talk about this...

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No one striving for life balance will ever reach the top of their profession.  No one striving for life balance will ever rise to a high level in any company...

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During your career, you will (and I have) run into many professional phonies.  Sales people are near the top, but you’ll find internal candidates in your business, too.  These are people who feint interest in your personal life to gain some sort of favored intention with you...

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For all of us, how we perceive ourselves and how the viewing public, i.e., anyone looking at us, perceives us is often quite different.  I suspect I am not even telling you something you don’t know, but it is something you forget daily...

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Words inspire and are a call to action.  However, at some point action must be taken...

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For some reason, no one thinks their employer can shut down, no one thinks they can lose their job.  I have speculated before that it is apparently some sort of human mental defense mechanism that creates this denial.  It truly is impossible until it is inevitable...

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Over the years, Paperitalo Publications has had many firsts, both in ideas and in delivery, and like football teams, we have been gearing up for the season of our lives this year. If you like what you see, if you like to hear about innovations up to three years before the legacy organizations have a clue as to what is going on, we ask for your help...

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I have to admit, I miss the good old days when people screamed, yelled and threw things when activities or production were not proceeding according to plan...

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The whole idea of employees lacking the curiosity to explore ways others are doing things or seeking new ways of doing things is just so foreign to me that it leaves me flabbergasted...

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A good friend recently related problems their spouse is having at work.  Two slackers who work in the same department have apparently decided to attack this spouse for actually being productive and doing a proper job.  The slackers have been there over ten years and this newbie of two years’ experience in the company is making them look bad.  So, in today’s climate, where it is hard to find another job, what do you do?

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Resting on the same old curricula, slightly updated, is not going to suffice to prepare leaders for our industry in the mid 21st century.  And face it—the graduates of today will likely be running the industry in 2045-2060.   We need more specialized paths to create a crop of graduates that will be out in front of the roar of technology marching on... 

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Sometimes it is called, “drinking your own bathwater.”  In general, it is about thinking you are great, important and all knowing.  It always blows up. 

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If you are not familiar with Two Sides and its President and COO, Phil Riebel, you should be.  Phil and this group are doing yeoman’s work to educate the public on their choices between electronic and paper information delivery.  Thanks to someone we never heard of before this month, we think it just got a lot easier for Phil to make his arguments when it comes to bank statements, credit card statements and bills... 

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Recent events seem to suggest we can, in real time, watch a retail brand being destroyed right now... 

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The curse of all businesses is killing problems and killing them dead.

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Over the years, it has been interesting to watch the fear level of employees... 

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I have seen many a good mill killed by poor maintenance...

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We have covered some other acronyms in this column before.  LOC stands for Lean, Orderly and Clean. LME stands for Legal, Moral and Ethical. This week, we want to introduce a third and state (hopefully) that if you follow all three acronyms, life will be good indeed. MAT stands for Maintained, Accountable and Trained...

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…and why complying with them can serve you well.

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I believe strongly that it is our dealing with the little things, like earplugs, that sets the tone for dealing with the big ones...

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Effective managers understand being effective.  Big surprise, eh?  More importantly, being effective does not necessarily mean wiping your to do list clean as fast as possible, especially when it comes to managing other people, superiors or subordinates. 

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Taking a condition, the foul in basketball, and using it as an offensive weapon sends a very wrong message to society. That message is this: If you can’t make it a legitimate way, in this case by making baskets, it is OK to cheat, up to a point, to gain an advantage. In my lifetime, I have seen this played out over and over again in business. Can’t make it legitimately? Cheat. 

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Are we incurring costs but gaining little in our quest to be confidential?

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Look around, are you working in a facility that meets the standards you would expect in a doctor’s office? 

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The world of tomorrow is not the world of today or yesterday.  If you are going to stay on top of your game, you will embrace it and be a leader, no matter your paper grade...

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Probably not, but an interesting thesis I have for you this week.  As we reported on Pulp & Paper Radio International this past Monday morning, there were two announcements of tissue and towel converting plants shutting down this past week.  One was a Clearwater facility in Thomaston, Georgia.  The other is Kimberly-Clark’s Delyn Plant in Wales which converts paper towels. It is somewhat rare, anywhere in the world, and especially in the western world, for tissue and towel facilities to completely shut.  However, here we have two examples...

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