Nip Impressions logo
Fri, Mar 29, 2024 12:02
Visitor
Home
Click here for Pulp & Paper Radio International
Subscription Central
Must reads for pulp and paper industry professionals
Search
My Profile
Login
Logout
Management Side

Articles related to environment


Week of 1 April 2024: The role of standards in safety
Week of 1 April 2024: The role of standards in safety

Observing mill engineering departments for a few decades, I've noticed a haphazard application of well known nationally and internationally recognized standards in small, mill originated upgrade projects. I'll even admit that, decades ago, I likely participated in this negligence. Standards are created for a reason.

More ...
Metsä Group's use of fossil chemicals in harvesting to decrease considerably
Metsä Group's use of fossil chemicals in harvesting to decrease considerably

Starting from May, Metsä Group's contract entrepreneurs will use the Phlebiopsis gigantea fungus for stump treatment and biodegradable oil to lubricate harvesters' saw chains. The changes will support Metsä Group's goals of regenerative forestry and reduce fossil carbon dioxide emissions from harvesting.

More ...
A Critical Balance: Virgin and Recycled Fibers Partners in Printing Paper Production
A Critical Balance: Virgin and Recycled Fibers Partners in Printing Paper Production

The balance of virgin and recycled fibers in paper and paper-based packaging production is a critical and ongoing consideration by consumers. While the pursuit of environmental friendliness-or the appearance of it-drives the push towards more recycled fibers, virgin fibers are essential in crafting high-quality, durable, and sustainable paper products.

More ...
Mondi invests in Stambolijski mill in Bulgaria to reduce water use
Mondi invests in Stambolijski mill in Bulgaria to reduce water use

Mondi is committed to reducing water use and increasing water recycling in its operations. A great local initiative on reducing water use comes Mondi's Stambolijski mill in Bulgaria.

More ...
Week of 25 March 2024: How to fix your maintenance--really
Week of 25 March 2024: How to fix your maintenance--really

This is the column I promised you last week. Your reaction will be either scoffing at it or believing it--there will be no middle of the road reactions. If you decide to believe, contact me and I will help you, at no charge, to get started.

More ...
Judge says lawsuit against New-Indy can move forward
Judge says lawsuit against New-Indy can move forward

People living near New-Indy's paper mill in Catawba, South Carolina, say they've experienced health problems due to the plant's emissions.

More ...
Week of 18 March 2024: Maintenance as a morale booster
Week of 18 March 2024: Maintenance as a morale booster

I don't think I have ever been around more depressing pulp and paper mills than those experiencing poor maintenance. The only thing that can drive morale down faster is producing a product in a declining market (anyone remember newsprint?). Sadly, many senior managers view maintenance as a cost.

More ...
Week of 11 March 2024: Maintenance on the fringes
Week of 11 March 2024: Maintenance on the fringes

Sometimes I think maintenance suffers from "macho disease." We talk about changing out press rolls, monitoring machine bearings and other sorts of "big deal" maintenance projects. I would hate to think how many times I have been exposed to pump and motor alignment. Yes, it is an important subject, but it is not everything. There are other things that can shut you down, too (or at least cause you to lie).

More ...
Week of 5 March 2024: Maintenance--my favorite month
Week of 5 March 2024: Maintenance--my favorite month

It is my favorite month because maintenance can pay huge dividends. Or maintenance can kill you if you ignore it. I've told many mill related tales of maintenance in this column over the years. For some reason, when I started to think about maintenance for this year's column series, I went back to my youth and some maintenance disasters that took place when I was a teenager at home.

More ...
Week of 26 February 2024: A Possible Answer?
Week of 26 February 2024: A Possible Answer?

We have spent the last three weeks talking about transportation issues and challenges in the pulp and paper industry today. About a year ago, I had an epiphany in the transportation and warehousing area. I went out and got a "patent pending" status on it. Due to all my other activities, I only feebly marketed it. At the time, my idea was to sell the idea. In the meantime, I have now decided to present it here for you to ponder.

More ...
Week of 19 February 2024: Stop moving stuff
Week of 19 February 2024: Stop moving stuff

Jerry Seinfeld has an old joke that goes like this. He is out driving in a rural area. He passes a log truck. Then he meets a log truck coming towards him. He asks, "If the people over here need logs and the people over there have logs, couldn't they just call each other up and avoid driving these logs all over the place?" It got a big laugh. Of course, real life is not this simple.

More ...
Week of 12 February 2024: Watch the terminations in transportation
Week of 12 February 2024: Watch the terminations in transportation

To borrow from last week, I don't care if it is the bar of soap going down the conveyor or the shipment of pulp from Brazil, the costs in transportation is the onloading and the offloading. These termination points are also the points most susceptible to mishandling and accidents. Granted the load must be secured appropriately, depending on the application, but you'll find the problems and the costs are at the ends.

More ...
Week of 5 February 2024: Transportation Thoughts
Week of 5 February 2024: Transportation Thoughts

It is transportation month here at Nip Impressions, and there is a lot to talk about. I almost titled this first column of the month "Transportation Follies" but then thought better of it. There certainly are many transportation follies in the headlines these days. However, I thought I would spend this first column of the month in a cerebral fashion. What do you think of when you think about transportation?

More ...
New-Indy back in court after claims of continued toxic emissions
New-Indy back in court after claims of continued toxic emissions

Residents claim the plant has continued to release an excessive amount of gas, which they believe is toxic, going against the Clean Air Act.

More ...
Week of 29 January 2024: Dishonest Dealings in Capital Projects
Week of 29 January 2024: Dishonest Dealings in Capital Projects

I promised you this column last week. Everyone in a capital project is under pressure. The mill team is under pressure to bring the project in on budget (remember how you kept shaving the budget to get the project through the board of directors?). The suppliers are under pressure to win the project at the highest possible profit for them, and will promise the moon, if they don't have to put it in writing. And this is all good, for it gives an old guy like me a steady income as an expert witness in project lawsuits. The grayer and thinner my hair has gotten, the more I can charge.

More ...
Durbin, Whitehouse, Hawley Call on Supreme Court to Reject Georgia-Pacific's Bankruptcy Maneuver to Evade Accountability to Hundreds of Thousands
Durbin, Whitehouse, Hawley Call on Supreme Court to Reject Georgia-Pacific's Bankruptcy Maneuver to Evade Accountability to Hundreds of Thousands

Senators: "Bestwall has created a legal stratagem that radically expands the authority of bankruptcy courts and makes a mockery of congressional intent".

More ...
Consumer Preference and Industry Efforts Pave the Way for Corrugated Boxes
Consumer Preference and Industry Efforts Pave the Way for Corrugated Boxes

As consumers increasingly voice their environmental concerns, industries worldwide are actively seeking sustainable alternatives to reduce their carbon footprint.

More ...
Weyerhaeuser Announces Habitat for Humanity Innovation Challenge
Weyerhaeuser Announces Habitat for Humanity Innovation Challenge

Six U.S. Habitat affiliates to participate in a design and build challenge using sustainable wood products that increase access to affordable, high-quality homes.

More ...
Paper Excellence's Crofton mill fined $25,500 for dumping toxic waste into ocean
Paper Excellence's Crofton mill fined $25,500 for dumping toxic waste into ocean

Mill has been slapped with a $25,500 penalty for releasing more than one million litres of toxic waste into the Salish Sea.

More ...
Week of 22 January 2024: Nothing Magical
Week of 22 January 2024: Nothing Magical

I have served as an expert witness in several capital project cases (dare I say disasters?). How do projects end up in this condition (disasters)? There only seem to be two major causes of such fates. The first is believing in magic and the second is dishonest dealings. We'll cover magic this week.

More ...
Week of 15 January 2024: Foolish Capital Choices
Week of 15 January 2024: Foolish Capital Choices

There have been several capital decisions in recent years that have left me scratching my head. In these cases, a great deal of funds have been expended to clean out old paper machine halls for the express purpose of installing new machines of a different grade.

More ...
Sheen in Spokane River caused by Inland Empire Paper Company equipment failure
Sheen in Spokane River caused by Inland Empire Paper Company equipment failure

A sheen that was discovered in the Spokane River last week was caused by an equipment failure at the Inland Empire Paper Company, the Department of Ecology says.

More ...
Week of 8 January 2024: Beware the Package Deal
Week of 8 January 2024: Beware the Package Deal

Back when I started in the industry, one bought everything for their new machine, printing press, or flexofolder/gluer piecemeal. Yes, there was a primary machinery supplier, but the capital project team and the project engineers bought everything else separately and integrated it all into one concomitant system. Due to growth of the industry, project teams became less experienced, and the system fell apart. Startup dates and startup curves were missed because of missing but vital components. Major machine suppliers had ready excuses for not meeting performance guarantees and there was a lot of finger pointing.

More ...
Weyerhaeuser Completes Sale of Initial Carbon Credit Offering
Weyerhaeuser Completes Sale of Initial Carbon Credit Offering

Agreement Marks Company's First Transaction in the Voluntary Carbon Market.

More ...
Week of 1 January 2024: What you can't see can hurt you
Week of 1 January 2024: What you can't see can hurt you

I am speaking about the capital projects sector for 2024 and going forward a bit.

More ...
Week of 25 December 2023: Keeping the gas and electricity flowing to our mills this winter
Week of 25 December 2023: Keeping the gas and electricity flowing to our mills this winter

I am sure you have heard the story many times about how I lost all steam producing capability in a northeastern Ohio mill in the winter of 1987. It was early February and temperatures had plunged to -20 F. I was not at the mill at the time, but no difference, both the powerhouse and the maintenance departments reported to me...

More ...
Week of 18 December 2023: Conserving Water
Week of 18 December 2023: Conserving Water

As you have probably noticed by now, I have taken a bit of a cynical view in this power and energy month here at Nip Impressions. I tend to do this when secular subjects become so widespread and accepted as the whole truth, all other theories be damned. Experience and logic tell me that such widespread, cult like belief must have a few cracks somewhere and those cracks must be explored. Thus, I will continue down this path this week and next.

More ...
Week of 11 December 2023: Do we detect an inflection point?
Week of 11 December 2023: Do we detect an inflection point?

The Cop28 Climate Change Conference currently underway in Dubai seems to have hit a couple of speed bumps on the way to banning fossil fuels.

More ...
Week of 4 December 2023: Power & Energy--Make your own
Week of 4 December 2023: Power & Energy--Make your own

There are a group of Mennonites in southern Ohio I love dearly. I try to go visit them a couple of times a year for a few days. My next visit is planned for the weekend of 16 - 17 Dec 2023. When I get there, my phone goes off and into my bag. There is no electricity. Heat is wood. Farming and local transportation is done with horses. They do use the bus system for long-distance traveling, and they do this quite often. Sounds inconvenient? It is the price of freedom.

More ...
Massive 3M, DuPont PFAS Class Dismantled by Sixth Circuit
Massive 3M, DuPont PFAS Class Dismantled by Sixth Circuit

Opinion follows skeptical previous ruling from last year.

More ...
Unmasking Greenwashing: The Consequences and the Cure
Unmasking Greenwashing: The Consequences and the Cure

In our increasingly environmentally conscious world, it's common for companies to tout their green initiatives and environmentally friendly practices, and that's just good business. But all too often, companies claim benefits - like the environmental superiority of "recyclable plastic" packaging or "going green" by switching from paper to electronic communications -- as a way to cloak poor environmental performance or mask cost-cutting efforts. With no sound scientific evidence to back them up, these types of claims are textbook greenwashing.

More ...
Week of 27 November 2023: Innovation--your turn
Week of 27 November 2023: Innovation--your turn

The question for you, dear reader and marketer, is what are we missing? Our typical product cycle is to try out a feature or a concept and gauge the reaction. Then it lives or dies. But let's turn this around. You may know better than we do what the next innovation in digital marketing to the pulp and paper industry should be. Sometimes one can be so close to something that they miss the obvious. We want to make sure that is not happening to us. Hence we want to hear from you.

More ...
Week of 20 November 2023: Barriers to Innovation--Part 2
Week of 20 November 2023: Barriers to Innovation--Part 2

Often, the barriers to innovation boil down to an unwillingness to take risks. If those risks involve technological changes, that just adds to the resistance. In the last thirty years, communications, for instance, have gone through startling changes, more changes than had been seen by humankind from the first written and spoken words up until then. These changes profoundly affected the pulp and paper industry and have blown by as if we were sitting still.

More ...
3M, DuPont PFAS settlements called inadequate by cities, other objectors
3M, DuPont PFAS settlements called inadequate by cities, other objectors

U.S. cities, towns and water districts have challenged proposed class action settlements worth more than $11 billion with 3M, DuPont de Nemours and others, arguing the deals are too generous to the chemical companies accused of contaminating U.S. water with toxic "forever chemicals."

More ...
Two Sides North America Responds to Wall Street Journal Article
Two Sides North America Responds to Wall Street Journal Article

Recent survey data validates the backlash shown on the WSJ website in response to Citigroup's decision to cut off all electronic communications to consumers who refuse to go paperless.

More ...
Week of 13 November 2023: Barriers to Innovation--Part 1
Week of 13 November 2023: Barriers to Innovation--Part 1

One of the major barriers to process innovation is knowing too much about the subject. Knowledge of a subject sets up unconscious barriers to innovation. Think of learning to drive an automobile. I have taught three teenagers how to drive. In all three cases, their first time behind the wheel experience resulted in eyes darting about rapidly. As they became familiar with driving, the eye darting subsided because they learned what was important and dismissed everything else. Same is true of a process or procedure. If you know it with your eyes closed, so to speak, you are dismissing a great deal of information that might be helpful in innovation. It's the "we've never done it that way syndrome." There are a couple of ways to shortcut this.

More ...
Week of 6 November 2023: Innovation and Strategy Month
Week of 6 November 2023: Innovation and Strategy Month

A couple of seemingly disparate items strike me as we start to think about innovation and strategy this month. The first is the press release a couple of months ago announcing the coming departure of the chairman of a major pulp and paper company. Reading between the lines, one could infer that this chairman and the board are out of ideas as to how to take the company forward. The other is the current popular human resource acronym, DEI, which stands for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. As with most such acronyms, this one is too simplistic and is itself too inclusive, likely being applied where it is not appropriate.

More ...
UPM supports the demolishing of Hiitolanjoki river's third dam and the return of landlocked salmon to their old spawning waters
UPM supports the demolishing of Hiitolanjoki river's third dam and the return of landlocked salmon to their old spawning waters

UPM supports the third and final phase of the Hiitolanjoki river restoration project in South Karelia, where the dam of the Ritakoski hydropower plant was demolished and the rapid restored. The restoration will allow Ladoga's landlocked salmon to rise to its old spawning waters and improves the status of the aquatic habitat of the river.

More ...
Industry CEOs Warn of Dire Economic Consequences from Proposed NAAQS Standards
Industry CEOs Warn of Dire Economic Consequences from Proposed NAAQS Standards

In a letter to White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients, the organizations warned that moving forward with the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) proposed revisions would jeopardize American jobs and risk substantial economic harm.

More ...
Sappi's Cloquet mill scores high in facility environmental management audit
Sappi's Cloquet mill scores high in facility environmental management audit

Developed by the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC), the Higg FEM is part of a suite of tools that enables manufacturing facilities of all sizes to measure and score their environmental performance against a standard set of criteria, allowing for meaningful and credible performance benchmarking in the apparel and textile sector.

More ...
Week of 30 October 2023: Quality is people and culture
Week of 30 October 2023: Quality is people and culture

At their best, all the sensors, software and specifications you have pertaining to quality are merely aids to your personnel as they produced quality services and goods at your company. This is true for even the most sophisticated (buzz word alert!) AI systems. If your people and culture are not tuned in and dedicated to producing quality, it will not happen. In the pulp and paper industry, we have not done such a good job of starting where quality starts--with our people and our culture.

More ...
Weyerhaeuser mill accused of Clean Water Act violations
Weyerhaeuser mill accused of Clean Water Act violations

An environmental group has accused Weyerhaeuser of violating the Clean Water Act by discharging wastewater and stormwater containing pollutants from its lumber mill near Raymond, Wash.

More ...
Week of 23 October 2023: Pre-Emptive Quality
Week of 23 October 2023: Pre-Emptive Quality

Everything that comes onto your mill site must meet established standards before it gets to your mill site. Multiple suppliers must be in place to provide quick backup if a primary supplier fails. I would dare say the plan for the quality of the product you will make in a month or two must be already established now. When it comes to the quality actions needed from the human component of your operation, that must be planned six months to a year before you need it.

More ...
EPA fines Pine Bluff, Arkansas Pactiv Evergreen facility $256,973 over reported violations
EPA fines Pine Bluff, Arkansas Pactiv Evergreen facility $256,973 over reported violations

The agreement alleges that Evergreen failed to control hazardous air pollutants at its facility, did not meet fuel specifications for boilers and failed to close washer windows/hoods during operation. Evergreen Packaging must pay a civil penalty of $256,973, according to the release.

More ...
Week of 16 October 2023: Quality is Attitude, Part 2
Week of 16 October 2023: Quality is Attitude, Part 2

Little did I know when I wrote the column last week, "Quality is Attitude" that there would be a sequel, but here it is. We usually think of quality, and concomitant attitudes about quality, as we think of suppliers serving customers. So, what would you say about customers providing outstanding, unheard-of quality to their suppliers? Would you infer from this that such a company, if it existed, would have quality service so ingrained that their customers could rest assured the quality they receive in service and products is top notch? I have found such a company and unabashedly want to tell you about them and their president.

More ...
Paper vs. Plastic Packaging: Two Sides Responds to The Washington Times
Paper vs. Plastic Packaging: Two Sides Responds to The Washington Times

The Washington Times recently featured an opinion piece by an advocate for the plastics industry that included multiple unsubstantiated environmental claims about paper-based packaging. Two Sides North America submitted the following letter to the editors in response.

More ...
Week of 2 October 2023: Quality--easier to receive than give?
Week of 2 October 2023: Quality--easier to receive than give?

Many of us recognize quality and we love to acquire it. Few of us love to create it. We'll explore the love of quality and how to create it this month.

More ...
Week of 9 October 2023: Quality is Attitude
Week of 9 October 2023: Quality is Attitude

As we continue to think about quality in a different way this month, I have to say quality is attitude. I have seldom seen an angry person produce quality services or products. Likewise, I have never seen a glib, happy-go-lucky person produce quality either. Let's face it, quality is serious business. It can be a complicated business, too.

More ...
Weyerhaeuser Announces Approval of First Forest Carbon Project
Weyerhaeuser Announces Approval of First Forest Carbon Project

Company partnering with Carbon Direct to deliver scientifically robust, high-quality forest carbon credits.

More ...
Week of 25 September 2023: What to do if you are quietly cut
Week of 25 September 2023: What to do if you are quietly cut

It has been widely reported recently that companies are "quietly cutting" employees. If you are not familiar with this term, it means your job has been eliminated, but you haven't. You'll be put on the sidelines until a place can be found for you. Likely your department has been eliminated, but to avoid paying you a severance package, you are "being placed in inventory" until a position can be found that matches your perceived skill set.

More ...
Week of 18 September 2023: Where does DEI fit into your hiring and promotion practices?
Week of 18 September 2023: Where does DEI fit into your hiring and promotion practices?

Extremely touchy subject, but I have never let that stop me before. DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) is at least on the lips of every human resource professional today. What should be your posture and response?

More ...
ND Paper Old Town Mill receives state penalty for environmental damages
ND Paper Old Town Mill receives state penalty for environmental damages

The ND Paper mill, located along the Penobscot River in Old Town, was recently fined a sum of $101,400. It was put in place by the Department of Environmental Protection for a 2020 chemical spill which resulted in vast environmental damages.

More ...
Week of 11 September 2023: Smurfit and CCA Redux?
Week of 11 September 2023: Smurfit and CCA Redux?

It is being reported that Smurfit, of Dublin, Ireland, and WestRock, of Atlanta, Georgia, are in merger talks. These are interesting times indeed. I recall in 1986 when Smurfit bought Container Corporation of America (CCA) with the help of Morgan Stanley. In fact, the combined company name included Morgan Stanley. Long term, that merger did not end well.

More ...
Week of 4 September 2023: Present at Work
Week of 4 September 2023: Present at Work

There is a new norm for work attendance. It was caused by the Covid lockdown, and if you are not aware of it, you must have been under a rock for the last three years. In the hourly ranks in our mills, it seems to be working itself out. Mills are adopting the twelve-hour day and hourly workers in many cases are working fourteen twelve-hour days out of each twenty-eight days, on various schedules of day and night shift. Maybe this will work and be widely adopted. That is a few hours more than a straight forty hour per week job, but who works forty hours per week. Salaried staff schedules have been more of a problem.

More ...
Week of 21 August 2023: Pulp Rats, Week 3
Week of 21 August 2023: Pulp Rats, Week 3

Fos the Rat says, "We've been talking to Mr. Jim this month and he has told us some amazing stories. Let's see what he has for us this week."

More ...
Week of 28 August 2023: Pulp Rats, Week 4
Week of 28 August 2023: Pulp Rats, Week 4

Fos the Rat says, "Every August, I look forward to taking over Mr. Jim's column and providing the insights of the Pulp Rats. This year we've done things a little differently, but here we are, already, at the end of the month. I hope you have enjoyed these interviews as much as I have enjoyed doing them. Let's see what Mr. Jim has to tell us today."

More ...
Week of 14 August 2023: Pulp Rats, Week 2
Week of 14 August 2023: Pulp Rats, Week 2

As we discussed last week, this year we are using a different format. Fos the Rat is interviewing Mr. Jim in a side room at the Pulp Rat Convention. Last week's story relayed matters that can happen within one's company. This week, we'll move outside the walls and see what can go wrong when an outside company has an evil intent.

More ...
Week of 7 August 2023: It is August, time for Pulp Rats
Week of 7 August 2023: It is August, time for Pulp Rats

Fos, the Rat, says, "I am going to use a slightly different format this year. Yes, the rat convention is going on as usual, but I have reserved a private room off the main convention floor and Mr. Jim has agreed to being interviewed concerning some of the situations he has seen over his fifty plus year career in this industry."

More ...
90 Million More Consumers Now Safeguarded from Anti-Paper Greenwashing
90 Million More Consumers Now Safeguarded from Anti-Paper Greenwashing

Two Sides North America Anti-Greenwashing Campaign Persuades 21 Leading Companies to Remove Unsubstantiated Environmental Claims in 1H23

More ...
Pactiv Evergreen denies chemical dumping at Canton mill violated water quality requirements
Pactiv Evergreen denies chemical dumping at Canton mill violated water quality requirements

Pactiv Evergreen, which closed its Canton paper mill in early June, issued a denial of wrongdoing in the dumping of chemicals into its wastewater treatment system. In a response to a violation notice from the NC Department of Environmental Quality, the company confirmed it disposed of chemical cleaning solution and sanitizer but said the discharge did not violate the water quality standards.

More ...
Week of 31 July 2023: Too much?
Week of 31 July 2023: Too much?

How clean is clean? What are we willing to pay for things to be incrementally cleaner?

More ...
Week of 24 July 2023: A new third party
Week of 24 July 2023: A new third party

Let's not forget what business we are in. Simply, that is to manufacture, convert, and/or print paper. There are many other activities in which mills must engage but these must be our focus--this is how we spin our invoice printer. I have lived through nearly the entire environmental era to date. Perhaps it is time for a new third party to rise up and help us with the entire environmental equation.

More ...
Week of 17 July 2023: Reasonable people all want the same thing
Week of 17 July 2023: Reasonable people all want the same thing

By and large, we all want the same thing for ourselves, our families and our friends. Clean air, clean water, and a pleasant view of nature. In most places governments have disincentivized (read: one can go to jail) managers from disobeying when it come to environmental regulations, so regular and repeated excursions from what is expected are matters of reasonably respecting compliance requirements. So why do your mill's neighbors have an adversarial relationship with your mill? There can be several reasons for this.

More ...
Pactiv Evergreen accused of illegally dumping chemicals during shutdown
Pactiv Evergreen accused of illegally dumping chemicals during shutdown

In a notice of violation issued Monday, July 10, the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality has accused Pactiv Evergreen of dumping chemicals directly into its wastewater treatment system rather than disposing of them properly, as required by the company's permit.

More ...
Federal judge rules lawsuit against Graphic Packaging can move forward
Federal judge rules lawsuit against Graphic Packaging can move forward

A federal judge refused to toss out claims of private nuisance and negligence in a class action lawsuit against Kalamazoo paper mill, Graphic Packaging International, according to court records.

More ...
Week of 10 July 2023: Corruption and Hysteria
Week of 10 July 2023: Corruption and Hysteria

Conditions should not be us and them, but that is what they have become. My solution? At this point, you have no choice but to be absolutely transparent to your local neighbors and be cautious of the traveling rabble-rousers. This situation is no fault but our own.

More ...
Survey Shows U.S. Consumers Believe Paper-based Packaging is Better for the Environment than Other Packaging Materials
Survey Shows U.S. Consumers Believe Paper-based Packaging is Better for the Environment than Other Packaging Materials

A new survey commissioned by Two Sides North America and conducted by international research firm Toluna found that U.S. consumers believe paper-based packaging is better for the environment than other packaging materials.

More ...
Week of 3 July 2023: Another year...what has changed?
Week of 3 July 2023: Another year...what has changed?

This is environmental/regulations month here at Nip Impressions. I must ask, what has changed in the past year? It appears the rhetoric has become shriller, the regulations more onerous and the government has become more invasive.

More ...
Tolko given right to appeal wildfire fine
Tolko given right to appeal wildfire fine

The Forest Appeals Commission issued a $343,495 penalty for a fire sparked in logging debris left by the company near Nazko in central B.C.

More ...
New Indy's lawyers push for dismissal of lawsuit against them
New Indy's lawyers push for dismissal of lawsuit against them

New Indy attorneys went before a federal judge on Tuesday to push to have one of the many lawsuits against them dismissed.

More ...
Georgia-Pacific may maintain bankruptcy pause on lawsuits, court rules
Georgia-Pacific may maintain bankruptcy pause on lawsuits, court rules

A dissenting judge called the bankruptcy an illegitimate "shell game".

More ...
Week of 26 June 2023: Let's talk about Purchasing, Part 4
Week of 26 June 2023: Let's talk about Purchasing, Part 4

Last week we talked about the missing doctor blades and how the solution cost the mill serious money through their own inability to manage their needs. I have a story from the other side of this issue as well.

More ...
New-Indy seeking to dismiss lawsuit filed by neighboring residents
New-Indy seeking to dismiss lawsuit filed by neighboring residents

Previously, a motion by the company to dismiss a class-action suit in August 2022 was dismissed.

More ...
Week of 19 June 2023: Let's talk about Purchasing, Part 3
Week of 19 June 2023: Let's talk about Purchasing, Part 3

If I am being a bit hard on purchasing this month, it is because I often see purchasing as a silo in our mills and corporate structures. Purchasing is often thought of as price, terms and conditions. There is a lot more that purchasing can do for the mill. It is not all about pricing, terms and conditions.

More ...
Two Sides North America Survey: U.S. Consumers' Preference for Print Media Shows Post-pandemic Gains
Two Sides North America Survey: U.S. Consumers' Preference for Print Media Shows Post-pandemic Gains

Print media saw significant disruption during the coronavirus pandemic as many people moved online for news and information, but consumers' preference for receiving and reading print on paper has rebounded over the past two years. This according to a new survey commissioned by Two Sides North America and conducted by global research firm Toluna.

More ...
Week of 12 June 2023: Let's talk about Purchasing, Part 2
Week of 12 June 2023: Let's talk about Purchasing, Part 2

Today's purchasing professionals are much better than the ones I ran into early in my career, but there is still room for improvement. A great purchasing executive must be a strategic and tactical thinker, also keeping their company's ESG goals in mind.

More ...
Class action suit filed against Graphic Packaging International in Kalamazoo
Class action suit filed against Graphic Packaging International in Kalamazoo

The City of Kalamazoo and Gov. Whitmer are among many entities and individuals listed in the suit, which demands hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation.

More ...
Chemours, DuPont, and Corteva Reach Comprehensive PFAS Settlement with U.S. Water Systems
Chemours, DuPont, and Corteva Reach Comprehensive PFAS Settlement with U.S. Water Systems

The companies will collectively establish and contribute a total of $1.185 billion to a settlement fund.

More ...
Week of 5 June 2023: Let's talk about Purchasing
Week of 5 June 2023: Let's talk about Purchasing

We can't start talking about purchasing without talking about corruption. This is my 54th June in industry, and I wish I could tell you that corruption in purchasing has diminished over this period, but I can't. One bright spot I know is a mill in Texas where a new purchasing agent eliminated all hats, pens, calendars, meals...any freebies provided by the vendors and suppliers. Sounds harsh? Once the camel gets its nose under the tent, there is no stopping.

More ...
New report exposes hidden deforestation in Royal Golden Eagle (RGE) supply chain and RGE control of pulp mill under construction in Borneo
New report exposes hidden deforestation in Royal Golden Eagle (RGE) supply chain and RGE control of pulp mill under construction in Borneo

A new investigative report, Pulping Borneo, finds that the Royal Golden Eagle (RGE) Group, the world's largest viscose producer and major paper products company, continues to rely on deforestation in its supply chain despite a high-profile commitment to "No-Deforestation". The report, co-published by five organisations including Greenpeace International, also reveals a chain of offshore shell companies pointing to RGE Group control behind a new mega-scale pulp mill in North Kalimantan, Indonesia, putting some of the world's largest remaining rainforests at risk.

More ...
Week of 29 May 2023: 'til we meet again
Week of 29 May 2023: 'til we meet again

No, this is not a retirement announcement. I am merely pointing out that we are done with energy for this month. We'll be back with more energy columns in December. If you haven't figured it out yet, Nip Impressions features energy two months per year--May and December. Energy is that important. As I have said before, it has been important for my entire career and will be far into the future.

More ...
Klabin celebrates 25 years of its first FSC® certification
Klabin celebrates 25 years of its first FSC® certification

Klabin, the largest producer and exporter of paper for packaging and sustainable solutions in paper packaging in Brazil, celebrates this month the 25th anniversary of the first certificate (1998) of excellence in forest management granted by Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC), when it became the first Brazilian company in the pulp and paper sector in the Southern Hemisphere to obtain the seal.

More ...
Biomass Basics: Clearing the Air About Paper's GHG Emissions
Biomass Basics: Clearing the Air About Paper's GHG Emissions

Have you heard that the earth is flat, literally flat? Yes, there are serious organizations making impressive-sounding arguments and throwing scientific jargon in every direction to disprove what real science and observation have taught us about our planet, but in the end the earth is still round. So it is with the claim that paper manufacturing is "a major contributor to climate change."

More ...
Week of 22 May 2023: Absolute Energy Improvements to Implement now
Week of 22 May 2023: Absolute Energy Improvements to Implement now

I have been beating around this energy trends subject all month. It is time for me to get serious and give you some help. Are there any sure-fire energy solutions you can do now and not be required to back track later? Let us think about it for a minute and see what we can develop and what can be set up for continuous improvement.

More ...
Week of 15 May 2023: Where are we going with electricity?
Week of 15 May 2023: Where are we going with electricity?

At this point in time, we have forgotten that using electricity as a widespread energy form is an almost new experience. My own grandparents, for instance, were born (early 1880's) when electric lights were brand new and only in the homes of the rich in concentrated urban places like New York City. It was years before they experienced these in the US Midwest. While electricity brought many advantages and improvements to life, business and industry, it was not without its negative side effects, too.

More ...
Week of 8 May 2023: Energy Independence
Week of 8 May 2023: Energy Independence

Let's take a walk down nostalgia and fantasy lanes this week. I am so frustrated with energy issues; I see no other choice.

More ...
Week of 1 May 2023: What can we say about energy that we have not said before?
Week of 1 May 2023: What can we say about energy that we have not said before?

It is energy month again, and, quite frankly, I am getting tired of talking about energy matters. As I have stated before, the first energy crisis occurred about four months after I received my undergraduate degree. We have been talking about energy ever since, not only in our mills, but in life in general. At first, the issue was, do we have enough? At the time, known petroleum reserves were about eight years, which would have gotten us to 1981. Obviously that was incorrect. Later in my career, climate change became the issue when the powers that be decided we face global warming instead of global cooling.

More ...
Week of 24 April 2023: Finally, this safety month...your health
Week of 24 April 2023: Finally, this safety month...your health

When I was young, binge drinking seemed to be the personally destructive behavior of choice. In one mill where I worked, the staff was in the habit of having a beer blowout after every shutdown day. I don't know if that is still a widespread activity or not. Of course, drugs, especial fentanyl, are widespread today and kill many people. We have had this tragedy hit close to us. Today, however, I want to talk about overeating and weight. We all, including me, struggle with this.

More ...
Week of 17 April 2023: Implant this in your mind now
Week of 17 April 2023: Implant this in your mind now

What I am about to describe can happen anywhere...work or home. Most of us would say our life is more important than material goods. However, here in our neighborhood, two people have lost their lives in the last six months because, in a rapidly developing situation, they thought saving material goods was paramount. They didn't have time to think it through.

More ...
Week of 10 April 2023: Safety in life outside of work
Week of 10 April 2023: Safety in life outside of work

In recent years, companies have started emphasizing safety off their premises as well as at work, for anything that causes an employee to be missing from work is a cost. It is just a matter of how big that cost is.

More ...
Environmentalists applaud Maine lawsuits against 3M, Dupont alleging PFAS contamination
Environmentalists applaud Maine lawsuits against 3M, Dupont alleging PFAS contamination

The lawsuits against 3M and Dupont seek financial damages to pay for the state's investigation into PFAS contamination.

More ...
Smith Corona Labels Unveils New On-Site  Nitrogen Generation System
Smith Corona Labels Unveils New On-Site Nitrogen Generation System

The company is now utilizing a rare procedure for their silicone curing process to both improve overall label production quality and expand a greener initiative.

More ...
Week of 3 April 2023: Safety in Maintenance
Week of 3 April 2023: Safety in Maintenance

As we start safety month, we could almost repeat the issues discussed last month in maintenance month. We'll spend some time this month talking about attitudes as well. Attitudes have a lot to do with safety.

More ...
Week of 27 March 2023: If it doesn't exist, you don't have to maintain it
Week of 27 March 2023: If it doesn't exist, you don't have to maintain it

We started off this month talking about obsolete equipment and processes left in place. This is not what I am talking about now. Here, I am talking largely about installed spares.

More ...
Week of 20 March 2023: Better Maintenance through better materials
Week of 20 March 2023: Better Maintenance through better materials

There has been a vast improvement in the selection of materials for new capital projects during my 53-year career. There are new materials, upgrades to old materials and a general view of specifying materials more suitable for the application now than in prior decades. If you have read me for any length of time, you know I like galvanized steel for all structural components (indoors and out) and stainless for nearly everything else where appropriate in pulp and paper mills. Granted, there a bleach plants constructed of titanium, but those are more the exception than the rule. I like plastic, too. CPVC pipe, FRP tanks are your friend.

More ...
EPA says it found 19 more potential violations at New-Indy mill in South Carolina
EPA says it found 19 more potential violations at New-Indy mill in South Carolina

The findings are the latest issue for the beleaguered mill.

More ...
Two Sides North America Anti-greenwashing Campaign Kicks off 2023 with Big Wins
Two Sides North America Anti-greenwashing Campaign Kicks off 2023 with Big Wins

Since its inception, the Two Sides North America Anti-greenwashing Campaign has eliminated literally billions of instances of paper-related greenwashing in the United States and Canada - and engagement with large utilities, banks and insurers in January and February has set the pace for millions more in 2023.

More ...
Week of 13 March 2023: Cleanliness and Oil/Grease
Week of 13 March 2023: Cleanliness and Oil/Grease

Last week, we talked about the first step to better maintenance. That was cleanliness, as in wholesale cleanliness by removing dead and obsolete equipment. To me, the next thing after cleanliness is oil and grease--lubrication.

More ...
WestRock facility receives citations, penalty of $29,004
WestRock facility receives citations, penalty of $29,004

According to a press release received Monday by Erin Wilson, director of communications for the N.C. Department of Labor, WestRock Kraft Paper LLC was cited with two alleged serious violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of North Carolina with a total penalty of $29,004.

More ...
Week of 6 March 2023: A Maintenance Travesty
Week of 6 March 2023: A Maintenance Travesty

If you have taken an automobile to a dealer's repair shop lately, you have no doubt noticed how clean and neat the facility is. I have been wheeled into operating rooms in prestigious hospitals with more clutter and cobwebs than one will find in the typical auto dealer repair shop. Automobile dealers work at a high charge out rate, out of a rate book. They have a constant struggle between the profitability demanded by their owners and the resistance of the customers to high prices. The repair shop is a profit center. The repair services provided by the maintenance department in your pulp or paper mill are treated as a cost center, a cost center the mill does not want to own. Big difference from the automobile dealership repair shop. Perhaps this is at least one reason why pulp and paper mill maintenance centers are so unkempt and trashy.

More ...
Week of 27 February 2023: A novel use for transportation intelligence
Week of 27 February 2023: A novel use for transportation intelligence

Your mill has all sorts of motive equipment, from skid steer loaders to clamp trucks to over-the-road transportation providers. The outside suppliers who maintain this equipment have a tremendous amount of valuable information that can save you hundreds of thousands of dollars, sometimes on a monthly basis. The key is how you approach accessing this information.

More ...
Train derailment at Georgia-Pacific Mill in Toledo, Ore. cleanup effort ends
Train derailment at Georgia-Pacific Mill in Toledo, Ore. cleanup effort ends

The derailment involved a Portland & Western Railroad train at a Georgia-Pacific mill in Toledo, about five miles east of Newport. The spilled diesel came from a punctured fuel tank on one of the three derailed locomotives, according to officials at the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.

More ...
Train derailment at Georgia-Pacific Mill in Toledo, Ore. spills about 2,000 gallons of diesel
Train derailment at Georgia-Pacific Mill in Toledo, Ore. spills about 2,000 gallons of diesel

The Oregon DEQ said cleanup efforts are still under way.

More ...
Week of 20 February 2023: Transportation--Electric v. Petroleum Fuels
Week of 20 February 2023: Transportation--Electric v. Petroleum Fuels

At this point the decision to go electric in your motive equipment or trucks is an easy one. If the vehicles are used for short range and there is charging time, go electric if it makes economic sense. For everything else, don't even bother doing the calculation.

More ...
Lawsuit Filed By Residents Against New Indy Paper Mill Claiming Chemicals Are Being Dumped In Catawba River
Lawsuit Filed By Residents Against New Indy Paper Mill Claiming Chemicals Are Being Dumped In Catawba River

On Monday, Feb. 13, the legal team representing residents filed a lawsuit saying harmful chemicals beneath the mill are being dumped in the Catawba river.

More ...
Week of 13 February 2023: Corporate Travel
Week of 13 February 2023: Corporate Travel

A lot of money leaks out of a company through the travel budget. It does not need to be this way.

More ...
Week of 6 February 2023: A bit about railroads
Week of 6 February 2023: A bit about railroads

It is transportation month and I will be the first to admit that this column will likely not make you any money. But occasionally, we should have a little education and fun without worrying about ROI, eh? Over the years, when I have brought up these matters with individuals, I get, "Well I didn't know that." So perhaps I can give you a little education, too.

More ...
Week of 30 January 2023: Now you must run it
Week of 30 January 2023: Now you must run it

If you are building statues or monuments, when the construction is done, you are done. We don't build statues and monuments in the pulp and paper industry.

More ...
Agency: Graphic Packaging Macon, Ga. facility problems caused 100 million-gallon spills into Ocmulgee River
Agency: Graphic Packaging Macon, Ga. facility problems caused 100 million-gallon spills into Ocmulgee River

The "major spill" started on Dec. 27 and is still continuing.

More ...
Week of 23 January 2023: Capital Projects: Improper Cash Flow Planning
Week of 23 January 2023: Capital Projects: Improper Cash Flow Planning

If you have spent your career in the shelter of large, rated companies, you likely have not experienced this problem. Some explanation. By "rated" I mean a company that carries a rating by a Dun & Bradstreet, Fitch, or some other recognized rating agency. Most such companies fund their capital projects through their corporate treasury.

More ...
Week of 16 January 2023: Second Number Uttered
Week of 16 January 2023: Second Number Uttered

Very long time reader Dene Taylor wrote me a note after last week's column (Week of 9 January 2023 "First Number Uttered") suggesting the second number uttered is the time to complete a project. Mike Higgins offered a similar comment. This is so true and in line with the items I covered the first week of this series, the week of 2 January 2023. I have seen so many schedules blown over the years that they are uncountable. The worst are the rebuild schedules, for they are the ones that take an operating machine out of production for a period of time, endangering the customer base. There is a lot of pressure to make these as short as possible.

More ...
Week of 9 January 2023: First Number Uttered
Week of 9 January 2023: First Number Uttered

Capital project budgets suffer from "first number uttered" syndrome. Whatever project cost number gets to the executive suite first is the one that every decision hangs on. That number may arrive from a back of the envelope exercise, an article read in a trade publication, or some other unresearched source. The corollary to "first number uttered" is, "surely we can beat competitor x's reported costs." More projects have been doomed by these kinds of thinking than any other I have ever known, and remember, we're talking about my fifty-three-year career here.

More ...
Week of 2 January 2023: Capital Projects Month
Week of 2 January 2023: Capital Projects Month

What continues to amaze me are the stories of projects gone bad. Large, small, makes no difference, there are still for me, after nearly 53 years of watching projects from all sides, reports of disastrous projects. In this time period, experienced and learned people have brought forth courses, books and institutes to tackle the subject of project management, yet my side gig of being an expert witness in construction lawsuits continues to thrive. These are the top five reasons I think capital construction projects fail...

More ...
Michigan sues Domtar over alleged 'forever chemical' contamination
Michigan sues Domtar over alleged 'forever chemical' contamination

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel (D) this week announced a lawsuit against paper manufacturer Domtar, alleging the company's defunct Port Huron operation contaminated the community with "forever chemicals."

More ...
Week of 26 December 2022: One final thought on energy savings
Week of 26 December 2022: One final thought on energy savings

The 10,000-pound elephant in the room is that old digester that you abandoned in place. Or maybe it is an old paper machine, or an old bleach plant. Managers have gotten really cute about abandoning old equipment in place rather than take a write-down. The error in this is that one has no idea what kind of energy consumption or fluids consumption (water, lubricants and so forth) are taking place in that abandoned unit operations.

More ...
Week of 19 December 2022: There are always many new ways to save energy
Week of 19 December 2022: There are always many new ways to save energy

The first energy crisis started within four months of my graduating from college. You might say I, and anyone younger than me, has spent their entire career energy centric. Yes, at times energy became relatively less expensive than at others, but it was always there.

More ...
Port Townsend mill fined $56k by state for air quality violation
Port Townsend mill fined $56k by state for air quality violation

Port Townsend Paper Corporation has been fined $56,250 for exceeding an air quality limit at its Port Townsend mill, the Washington Department of Ecology announced Wednesday.

More ...
Week of 12 December 2022: More Energy Follies
Week of 12 December 2022: More Energy Follies

I think my long-term proclamation that all energy is political (which is proven true every day in the popular press), licenses me to wander a bit from our normal management and technical topics here as we attempt to figure out how to get the pulp and paper industry through this coming Northern Hemisphere winter.

More ...
Sustana Joins UN Global Compact, is Committed to Sustainable Development Goals
Sustana Joins UN Global Compact, is Committed to Sustainable Development Goals

Sustana, the sustainable fiber and paper industry leader, has joined the United Nations (UN) Global Compact initiative. Sustana's engagement in the UN Global Compact -- a voluntary leadership platform for the development, implementation, and disclosure of responsible business practices - reflects its longstanding and continued adherence to sustainable practices and its ongoing support for the Ten Principles focused on human rights, labor, environment, and anti-corruption.

More ...
Week of 5 December 2022: Where's the energy coming from?
Week of 5 December 2022: Where's the energy coming from?

In May of each year, we talk about Energy Trends, and we wrap up in December with Power & Energy. Energy is an important topic in the industrial and post-industrial world. As I have said many times, modern energy is all politics. It doesn't help that most politicians and journalists did not go to STEM schools for their secondary education.

More ...
Week of 28 November 2022: When it is time to break the rules and innovate anyway
Week of 28 November 2022: When it is time to break the rules and innovate anyway

So, what have we learned from this series of columns?

More ...
Federal court signs off on $1.1 million fine against New-Indy paper mill
Federal court signs off on $1.1 million fine against New-Indy paper mill

The New Indy paper mill in York County has agreed to a $1.1 million penalty and consent decree to resolve the lawsuit filed against the mill for causing a foul odor.

More ...
Week of 21 November 2022: Sometimes you want execution, not innovation
Week of 21 November 2022: Sometimes you want execution, not innovation

Discerning when to be innovative or not is just as important as the art of innovation itself.

More ...
Week of 14 November 2022: Another innovation example
Week of 14 November 2022: Another innovation example

Be creative, but make sure you are creative from many points of view. Additionally, don't get hung up on your idea, there may be a better one.

More ...
Week of 7 November 2022: How to get started in innovation
Week of 7 November 2022: How to get started in innovation

I think anyone can train their brain to be creative. It is a matter of recognizing and knocking down the subconscious mental barriers in your thinking. I believe most are not creative because they won't let themselves explore the possibilities. I know this happens to me even though I am aware of this barrier.

More ...
Week of 31 October 2022: Quality in your products
Week of 31 October 2022: Quality in your products

I suspect when I started this series four weeks ago and you saw the word quality, you immediately thought about the products or services your company provides. That is normal. However, we first must get our house in order, starting with ourselves, before we talk about the products or services our company provides.

More ...
Week of 24 October 2022: Quality in your customer relations
Week of 24 October 2022: Quality in your customer relations

As we talked about attitude last week, you should have picked up some ideas for making sure your customer relations exude quality, but there are a few more items I would like to emphasize.

More ...
Georgia-Pacific Toledo, Oregon facility fined for air, water pollution
Georgia-Pacific Toledo, Oregon facility fined for air, water pollution

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality recently fined Georgia-Pacific's Toledo mill about $62,000 for alleged air and water quality violations, some dating back two years.

More ...
Week of 17 October 2022: Quality in your attitude
Week of 17 October 2022: Quality in your attitude

Generally, I think that a cheerful countenance and an empathetic attitude convey a person of quality, and like I have said in other parts of this series, an aura of quality is contagious throughout your entire sphere of influence.

More ...
Week of 10 October 2022: Quality with your phone
Week of 10 October 2022: Quality with your phone

The modern phone is a miracle device. The downside is that it may expose us in multifaceted ways that are not flattering.

More ...
Week of 3 October 2022: Quality in your workspace
Week of 3 October 2022: Quality in your workspace

Quality starts at home, and that home is often your home, your car, and your workspace. Organization exudes quality. Ever walked into an automobile dealership? Was it disheveled or spotless? How would you react if you walked into an automobile dealership that was untidy? If we are going to talk about quality, we must start with ourselves in the places we live and work.

More ...
Week of 26 September 2022: The Eclectic Management Series, part 4
Week of 26 September 2022: The Eclectic Management Series, part 4

Hidden Costs

More ...
Graphic Packaging Michigan mill issued emission violations after 'unannounced' state inspection
Graphic Packaging Michigan mill issued emission violations after 'unannounced' state inspection

State of Michigan environmental investigators have issued Graphic Packaging International multiple violations after an unannounced inspection in July, including one violation for releasing a chemical at a rate that exceeds the permitted emission limit.

More ...
Week of 19 September 2022: The Eclectic Management Series, part 3
Week of 19 September 2022: The Eclectic Management Series, part 3

Nothing is free

More ...
Week of 12 September 2022: The Eclectic Management Series, part 2
Week of 12 September 2022: The Eclectic Management Series, part 2

Spinning the Invoice Printer

More ...
Week of 5 September 2022: The Eclectic Management Series, part 1
Week of 5 September 2022: The Eclectic Management Series, part 1

So, you want to be a consultant

More ...
Week of 29 August 2022: And everything else
Week of 29 August 2022: And everything else

Well, after a few days, the Great Mother came back. She did not mention gorging herself and neither did anyone else. Great Mother, "We have gotten very far behind, and our time is almost up. Til, can you come forward and read the remaining cases? If we have time, we will take them up at next year's conference." Til came forward.

More ...
Week of 22 August 2022: Threats
Week of 22 August 2022: Threats

The Rats took a break for a couple of days. We found a pond for swimming and had a good time. On the way back to the meeting area, we went past a place where the Big Things eat food that they heat up very quickly. Out behind, there were bins full of discarded food, so we had quite a feast. The Great Mother got sick from gorging herself and was very embarrassed. The Great Mother always takes her role very seriously and is very conscious of her decorum. Gorging herself was out of character. She must have felt quite ill, for when we reconvened the Junior Mother was presiding. "Attention, please!" she called us to order. "The Great Mother is a bit under the weather and has asked me to preside over this session. Today, we are going to quickly look at cases where Big Things threatened the companies for which they work. Clerk, please read the cases."

More ...
Week of 15 August 2022: The Big Things are up to their old tricks
Week of 15 August 2022: The Big Things are up to their old tricks

After a brief recess, the Great Mother called us together again. "What is on the docket for today?"

More ...
Week of 8 August 2022: The Rats find a new problem
Week of 8 August 2022: The Rats find a new problem

After three lights, the Great Mother called us together again. "We have heard a particularly disturbing story," she began. "It seems as though the Big Things want to be known for protecting this whole place where we live, but some of them take what they call shortcuts at times. The RBI, or Rat Bureau of Investigation, has been looking into this. I'll let them explain." Phineas Kirby came to the front of the room...

More ...
Stating it Clearly: WV vs. EPA
Stating it Clearly: WV vs. EPA

So what's the real story about the EPA and power plant regulations?

More ...
Week of 1 August 2022: Fos takes control of the computer
Week of 1 August 2022: Fos takes control of the computer

By Jim Thompson interpreting for Fos the Rat ... Yes, it is August again and its is corruption month at Paperitalo Publications. We rats have observed in the past year that the human engagement in corruption is not limited to pulp and paper mills. This last statement may sound naïve, but one must understand our methods of communications are rather limited (basically just walking around and talking to each other) so we perhaps don't get all the information Big Things do.

More ...
DS Smith Removes Over 313 Million Pieces of Problem Plastic in Two Years
DS Smith Removes Over 313 Million Pieces of Problem Plastic in Two Years

Sustainable packaging firm leads the way in single-use plastic replacement fight

More ...
Lawsuit filed against New-Indy for CAA, EPA violations
Lawsuit filed against New-Indy for CAA, EPA violations

According to a 60-day notice of intent, New-Indy violated the emission limits imposed by the EPA in an emergency order.

More ...
Week of 25 July 2022: HR and Regulations
Week of 25 July 2022: HR and Regulations

As we wrap up Environmental and Regulations Month here at Paperitalo, we would be remiss if we did not mention the minefield that regulations relating to Human Resources have become.

More ...
Week of 18 July 2022: Don't make this regulatory mistake
Week of 18 July 2022: Don't make this regulatory mistake

Don't think you can turn regulations into a marketing advantage. Thinking that a customer base must buy a certain good or service and hence this will make an automatic market for you is a potential mistake.

More ...
Pactiv Evergreen Launches New PlantCarton Life School Program at School Nutrition Conference
Pactiv Evergreen Launches New PlantCarton Life School Program at School Nutrition Conference

New PlantCarton Life school program features creative ways to repurpose cartons, encourages carton recycling, and helps inspire students' appreciation for plant-based packaging.

More ...
Week of 11 July 2022: When Regulations get Political
Week of 11 July 2022: When Regulations get Political

The general intent of regulations is to keep order in society and keep the population safe. A dictionary definition of regulations is "a rule or directive made and maintained by an authority." My cynical version is this: "those who have power by fiat telling those who own assets what to do." Over the decades, we have seen many actions that follow my definition here in the pulp and paper industry.

More ...
Packaging Leader DS Smith, University of Georgia Team Up to Support Local Wildlife, Promote Biodiversity
Packaging Leader DS Smith, University of Georgia Team Up to Support Local Wildlife, Promote Biodiversity

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.

More ...
Week of 4 July 2022: Asphyxiation by Regulation
Week of 4 July 2022: Asphyxiation by Regulation

A little regulation is probably good, but a lot of regulation chokes business to death.

More ...
What Would Ben Franklin Do?
What Would Ben Franklin Do?

Making the Environmental Case for Paper

More ...
14 attorneys general say proposed EPA guidelines are an overreach
14 attorneys general say proposed EPA guidelines are an overreach

Attorneys general representing 14 states have sent a letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that criticizes its proposed plan to regulate downwind emissions, arguing it will be a "death knell for certain industries" unable to adjust to the new guidelines.

More ...
Pactiv Evergreen Introduces Its 'Zero Waste Implementation Guide' as a Resource for Foodservice Operators
Pactiv Evergreen Introduces Its 'Zero Waste Implementation Guide' as a Resource for Foodservice Operators

Foodservice Operators Striving for Zero Waste Solutions Will Benefit from This Guide

More ...
Week of 27 June 2022: We interrupt the Purchasing Series to talk about Energy Again
Week of 27 June 2022: We interrupt the Purchasing Series to talk about Energy Again

Sorry about that, but the energy news is coming thick and fast for all of us these days. I am sure you remember old Jim telling you to carefully preserve your boilers, regardless of what form of energy they consume (I have also said these are the only types of idled assets to save). I hope you have heeded my advice. It appears the rapid transition to "Green Energy" sources appears to have some problems.

More ...
Pactiv Evergreen Introduces Tamper Evident Fry Cartons to Its Offering of Innovative Packaging Solutions
Pactiv Evergreen Introduces Tamper Evident Fry Cartons to Its Offering of Innovative Packaging Solutions

Patent-pending Fry Cartons are made from Pactiv Evergreen's Sentinel™ Paperboard, providing a fully integrated packaging solution to foodservice operators

More ...
Week of 20 June 2022: Purchasing and Gifts
Week of 20 June 2022: Purchasing and Gifts

A tough subject and one all of us, not matter what side of the negotiating table we sit, should treat with respect, not forgetting our fiduciary duty.

More ...
Week of 13 June 2022: Procurement Today
Week of 13 June 2022: Procurement Today

Today, we need to know the delivery status of items way before their expected delivery date. We even need to know what ship they are on and where that ship is at any given moment. As shortages continue, this becomes even more important.

More ...
Week of 6 June 2022: Procurement Opportunities
Week of 6 June 2022: Procurement Opportunities

The purchasing department is an area of great opportunities. It is also a place where all the profits of the mill can be dribbled away, and a potential source of grossly unimaginable corruption. The purchasing department must be carefully managed.

More ...
Week of 30 May 2022: Always use less
Week of 30 May 2022: Always use less

As we wrap up this month on energy trends, there is one certainty over which you have complete control. That certainty is this...energy you don't use frees you from others' control. If we think of a pulp and paper mill as a "black box" this means that energy we use inside the mill that we generate ourselves frees us from the vagaries of the markets and external suppliers.

More ...
Week of 23 May 2022: Energy Security
Week of 23 May 2022: Energy Security

If you have read this column for any length of time, I am about to repeat something you have heard before. I am always in favor of removing obsolete and unused equipment quickly with one glaring exception. That exception is this: power plants.

More ...
Week of 16 May 2022: It's Electrifying!
Week of 16 May 2022: It's Electrifying!

The answer to dirty energy today seems to be electricity. For mobile transportation, cars and trucks, electricity moves the emissions from many points (tail pipes) to either single points (power stations) or theoretically no points (solar, wind and hydroelectric). The first thing we need to understand is that our choice of energy is cost, ease of use, and emotions. Notice that glaringly absent from this list is science. Energy choices have long since left science out of the equation.

More ...
Week of 9 May 2022: Energy is Important
Week of 9 May 2022: Energy is Important

Of course, it is. You ask how I can write a column about this. What we don't realize is how rapidly and how important energy has become to modern societies. The following is a column I wrote for my hometown newspaper about six months ago. While not about energy, it describes a real scenario, that while current, could have easily been widespread conditions about 70 years ago in the United States. The boiler, an important object in this piece, was manufactured only about sixty years ago.

More ...
Two Sides Global Anti-Greenwashing Campaign Momentum Continues as More Companies Remove Anti-paper Environmental Claims
Two Sides Global Anti-Greenwashing Campaign Momentum Continues as More Companies Remove Anti-paper Environmental Claims

Since 2010, Two Sides' fact-driven campaign has persuaded more than 880 organizations globally, including 159 in North America, to remove unsubstantiated environmental claims about paper from their marketing communications.

More ...
Week of 2 May 2022: Energy Trends Month
Week of 2 May 2022: Energy Trends Month

On the Nip Impressions calendar, May is energy trends month. There is hardly a timelier topic, except perhaps food trends, but Nip Impressions does not cover food and my doctor wants me to lose ten pounds, so I try not to think about it. I would guess a good half of the headlines in the popular press today are about energy. These then fall into two categories, security of supply and what to do about, what I will call "dirty" energy.

More ...
Georgia-Pacific waited too long to sue over PCB Superfund cleanup
Georgia-Pacific waited too long to sue over PCB Superfund cleanup

Georgia-Pacific waited far too long to sue International Paper and Weyerhaeuser for contribution to the massive costs it faced in cleaning up an 80-mile Superfund site along the Kalamazoo River in southwestern Michigan, a federal appeals court held Monday.

More ...
Week of 25 April 2022: Bragging about safety records (and more)
Week of 25 April 2022: Bragging about safety records (and more)

I was doing some consulting in a mill a number of years ago that had a sign by their entrance that stated they had won some "safety award of the year" some years before the time I visited. I chided them and asked what they had been doing since the time of the award? Obviously, they had not won it again. Unfortunately, about five years after my visit, they had a triple fatality at that mill--contractors on an outage. There are a couple of issues I would like to unpack from my opening paragraph.

More ...
Week of 18 April 2022: (Legitimate) drug use on outages (and more)
Week of 18 April 2022: (Legitimate) drug use on outages (and more)

Many of us take OTC (Over The Counter) drugs. These can be abused, too. Especially on outages. I'll tell a story on myself...

More ...
New study shows Northern Pulp mill emissions exceeded federal threshold by 100,000%
New study shows Northern Pulp mill emissions exceeded federal threshold by 100,000%

Dalhousie University researchers tracked air pollutants in pulp and paper industry for nearly 20 years.

More ...
Spotlight on Clampitt Paper Company
Spotlight on Clampitt Paper Company

One of the few remaining independent paper merchants in the American Southwest, Clampitt Paper Company was founded in 1941 by Max and Mary Nell Clampitt, and it remains a family owned business today. With 10 locations plus 11 retail stores (FasClampitt), Clampitt serves customers across Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Kansas, Missouri and most recently, Colorado.

More ...
Week of 11 April 2022: Without much time to think
Week of 11 April 2022: Without much time to think

There was a fatal automobile accident in our neighborhood lately that can serve as an excellent study on how we think when there is little time to sort out the situation. There are lessons here for all of us.

More ...
It's True: Paper Products Are Not a Major Contributor to Climate Change. Here's Why...
It's True: Paper Products Are Not a Major Contributor to Climate Change. Here's Why...

If you've been following Two Sides or other authoritative sources, you know that the paper products you use do not contribute in any major way to climate change. Why? Because most of the energy used to manufacture them is generated using renewable, carbon neutral biomass. But what does this really mean?

More ...
Week of 4 April 2022: A Safety Resource
Week of 4 April 2022: A Safety Resource

I like to remind people of the following resource any time I get a chance. It is a good way to start off safety month here at Paperitalo Publications. It is simply this. On our website, PaperMoney (www.globalpapermoney.com), we have been keeping track of the industry's safety performance. In its sixth year now, the department, "Reported Risks" is a current chronicle of "Risks: Fires, Fatalities and Catastrophes." It is a good learning resource and a source of endless safety meeting subjects.

More ...
Week of 28 March 2022: Additive manufacturing of spare parts moves to an essential activity
Week of 28 March 2022: Additive manufacturing of spare parts moves to an essential activity

It has been over a decade ago that I started talking about manufacturing your own spare parts with additive manufacturing. It is now moving from an interesting idea to a vital necessity. Between logistics problems and world turmoil, the spare parts needed for your machine may not be available. Most, except those of the most critical metallurgy, you can make in your own shop with less skills than a first-class welder or machinist.

More ...
Week of 21 March 2022: Importance of Lubrication
Week of 21 March 2022: Importance of Lubrication

Over the years, I have talked about this miserable old mill that I worked at long ago. When I was young, when I had a choice, I always ran towards opportunities that had lots of problems. My philosophy was that situations in trouble were the best way to advance your career. I have never been interested in career safety, it is boring and leads to complacency. So, I end up at this mill, in the prime of my career. It is large, ancient and a mess...

More ...
Attorneys frustrated with delay in EPA's delivery of New-Indy documents
Attorneys frustrated with delay in EPA's delivery of New-Indy documents

Attorneys representing homeowners complaining about a foul odor coming from the New-Indy paper mill in South Carolina are frustrated with the EPA's lack of urgency.

More ...
Week of 14 March 2022: Will vs. Means
Week of 14 March 2022: Will vs. Means

We have more aids for maintenance today than ever before. Detection instruments, storeroom software, built in monitors, training, you name it. Maintenance has never had more help than is available today. So, why do we still have maintenance failures?

More ...
Two Sides North America Gives Hollywood a Bad Review: Two Thumbs Down for
Two Sides North America Gives Hollywood a Bad Review: Two Thumbs Down for "Go Paperless" Campaign

There's a new anti-paper campaign afoot in Hollywood. Called ScriptationNation, it's a coalition of misinformed celebs who've joined with entertainment technology company Scriptation, the maker of a new digital script app, to get Hollywood to go paperless by 2030. The Hollywood Reporter recently reported on the coalition. Two Sides responded with a letter to the editor.

More ...
Week of 7 March 2022: Maintenance Month
Week of 7 March 2022: Maintenance Month

Probably after August (Pulp Rats Month), Maintenance Month is my favorite month of the year on the Paperitalo editorial calendar. My dad was notorious for avoiding maintenance. It was an expense he loathed in the same manner as many mill managers and operations executives do. I followed his example for a while, saw the fruits of such policies and became a maintenance fanatic. A couple of old family incidents are in order.

More ...
Week of 28 February 2022: Logistics up close and personal
Week of 28 February 2022: Logistics up close and personal

I don't think most mills realize how close we are to interacting with robots every day. The box plants are ahead of us on this. The new Super Plants require about two thirds the employment for the same level of productivity. They are all 110" corrugators and they have a heavy component of robotics. I am expecting to see a flurry of box plant upgrades between now and 2030. Super plants won't be super then--they will be the norm. Back in the papermill, a couple of ready for here and now human aids are available.

More ...
Week of 21 February 2022: Frequent Flier Miles for your new Refiner
Week of 21 February 2022: Frequent Flier Miles for your new Refiner

In today's world, you may want to think long and hard about how the new or replacement piece of equipment (or other vital supplies) reach your mill. If you can afford to wait 12 - 18 weeks for those special refiner plates to arrive, put them on a ship. If you are losing production or quality every day because you do not have them, fly 'em, the most economical overall cost.

More ...
Week of 14 February 2022: This old term is your friend now: FOB
Week of 14 February 2022: This old term is your friend now: FOB

Back in the old days, we used the term "FOB." This meant "Freight on Board." There are other terms these days, but they mean nearly the same thing. One could purchase items "FOB seller's dock" or "FOB purchaser's dock." Internal logistics personnel have, for the last couple of decades, thought it smart to handle the logistics and freight themselves and purchase nearly everything "FOB seller's dock." They think they are saving money and justifying their existence. No more. In today's world, I would recommend that you purchase nearly everything, especially capital goods, "FOB purchaser's dock."

More ...
Week of 7 February 2022: What are you doing about logistics?
Week of 7 February 2022: What are you doing about logistics?

If you are like most facilities these days, your transportation system, outside the fence, if not in shambles, is at least limping along. What to do?

More ...
Reaching Consumers in an Environmentally Responsible Way: The Return of Printed Catalogs
Reaching Consumers in an Environmentally Responsible Way: The Return of Printed Catalogs

After a sharp decline in 2020, printed catalogs are coming back in a big way. Market research firm Keypoint Intelligence reports that digital print volumes - the production method for most smaller-run catalogs - has rebounded close to its pre-pandemic level, and demand is expected to soar past pre-pandemic production next year and continue rising at a compound annual rate of 8% through 2025.

More ...
Week of 31 January 2022: Capital Project Done...or is it?
Week of 31 January 2022: Capital Project Done...or is it?

Give your operations and maintenance folks the help they need to make the project truly successful.

More ...
Week of 24 January 2022: After the approval--managing the capital project
Week of 24 January 2022: After the approval--managing the capital project

I've often been asked, "how often should our project team meet once our project is under way?" My answer is based on your average spend over the life of the project and at peak times (especially in rebuilds).

More ...
Can Paper Help Save the Planet?
Can Paper Help Save the Planet?

The recent United Nations global climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, brought the world's leaders together again to try to reach agreement on further commitments to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. High on the agenda was preserving the health of the world's forests - a critical natural resource for absorbing these emissions.

More ...
Cancer-causing compound detected at South Carolina New-Indy paper mill
Cancer-causing compound detected at South Carolina New-Indy paper mill

In addition to causing cancer, the compound known as dioxin can also cause reproductive and developmental problems, damage to the immune system and interfere with hormones. It's sometimes produced by chlorine bleaching of pulp and paper.

More ...
Week of 17 January 2022: What is acceptable risk in a capital project?
Week of 17 January 2022: What is acceptable risk in a capital project?

I have written assessments on lots of projects. Every one of them follows the same pattern in the same order. Three questions: 1. What are the markets? 2. What are the raw materials? 3. What are the assets (including tangible assets and human assets) that you place between (1) and (2) to have a successful project? If you don't start here, your chances of success are very low.

More ...
Verso Corp. to pay nearly $250,000 in settlement for 2020 fish kill on Escanaba River in Michigan
Verso Corp. to pay nearly $250,000 in settlement for 2020 fish kill on Escanaba River in Michigan

Under the settlement, the Ohio-based company will pay more the $244,451 in civil penalties and natural resource damages and will make spill prevention and containment improvements to its facilities to ensure protection of the Escanaba River and Lake Michigan.

More ...
DuPont, Chemours beat back lawsuit over chemicals in N.Y. drinking water
DuPont, Chemours beat back lawsuit over chemicals in N.Y. drinking water

Suez Water New York sued E.I. Du Pont de Nemours and Co, DuPont de Nemours Inc, Corteva Inc and The Chemours Co in 2020. It sought to hold the companies liable for the costs of installing and running the pricey filtering systems at the New York plants it operates.

More ...
EPA proposes $1.1 million penalty, robust improvements for New Indy over S.C. odor dilemma
EPA proposes $1.1 million penalty, robust improvements for New Indy over S.C. odor dilemma

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed to fine New Indy Containerboard $1.1 million over the odor dilemma in South Carolina that sparked thousands of complaints against the paper mill.

More ...
Week of 3 January 2022: How to manage your capital budget this year
Week of 3 January 2022: How to manage your capital budget this year

Most of the people I talk to today have not prepared or managed capital budgets under the conditions we find ourselves in now. Well, I saw my first capital budget in an industrial setting in March of 1970. Perhaps I can help you a bit--we had similar issues back then as those we are facing today--the administration in the White House in those days thought they could control inflation with price controls which caused me to miss two planned 25 cent raises as a co-op student, from $2.75 per hour, to $3.00 per hour to $3.25/hour, over a period of 18 months. Glad I could do my part to help tame inflation; as a student operating on the pay as you go plan (no loans), one makes too much money anyway.

More ...
Week of 10 January 2022: Upside down thinking when it comes to capital planning
Week of 10 January 2022: Upside down thinking when it comes to capital planning

Have you ever had a conversation like this? "I was going to by a car from Brand X because it is cheaper and has more features than Brand Y." "Well, you obviously bought Brand Y. Why?" "Brand X didn't have any in stock and didn't know when they would get any." So, really, in the end, Brand X didn't mean anything because you could not get Brand X. Their price could have been twice the price or half the price of Brand Y, it just didn't make any difference. You may find yourself in this place with certain pieces of capital equipment now. You may have to become a "satisfier" instead of an "optimizer."

More ...
Week of 27 December 2021: Is there a magic elixir for an energy marketing advantage?
Week of 27 December 2021: Is there a magic elixir for an energy marketing advantage?

I don't think this is a one size fits all question as you look at your marketing going forward. Some customers will be interested in your energy usage, others will be interested in what your products can do to save them costs in their manufacturing and logistics schemes. Please note that in all scenarios in this column, I will be talking primarily about business-to-business sales, not business to consumers.

More ...
Week of 20 December 2021: Changing ROI in Power & Energy
Week of 20 December 2021: Changing ROI in Power & Energy

I recently read an article in the Wall Street Journal which was discussing the write down coming in some energy assets, such as coal reserves, as the economy switches to "greener" energy sources. Like it or not, agree with it or not, there seems to be a move afoot to completely change our acceptable energy sources. You can interpret this as follows: energy is going to get more expensive, a lot more expensive, in this new world.

More ...
Week of 13 December 2021: Identity Energy
Week of 13 December 2021: Identity Energy

What concerns me today is that we seem to be more interested in the form of energy rather than its efficiency or cost. Energy has taken on somewhat of an "identity politics" persona. In earlier days, it was security of supply and efficiency. Today it is products of combustion that seems to garner the attention.

More ...
Week of 6 December 2021: Now more than ever
Week of 6 December 2021: Now more than ever

If you have read this column for any length of time, you know that old Jim has told you countless times to carefully mothball energy assets that are out of favor, for sooner or later, they will come back into fashion again. This statement is a corollary to my principle, all energy decisions are political. This calendar year has seen a sudden swing to an overwhelming global opinion that climate change is "settled science" and we can't decarbonize fast enough. Couple this with ESG (Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance) principles and boards of directors worldwide are moving at warp speed towards these extremely popular ideas.

More ...
Week of 29 November 2021: Innovation in the near future
Week of 29 November 2021: Innovation in the near future

The components and devices to do what I will describe here exists now. Someone just needs to assemble the bits and pieces.

More ...
Amcor research shows consumers worldwide want to recycle more
Amcor research shows consumers worldwide want to recycle more

A new survey of 12,000 consumers in six countries worldwide shows that 76% of them would like to recycle more than they do now.

More ...
Week of 22 November 2021: Innovation is possible for anyone
Week of 22 November 2021: Innovation is possible for anyone

If you think you can't innovate, the problem is purely mental. Creativity can be learned and you can use it in many ways to make your work environment more productive and safer.

More ...
Week of 15 November 2021: Innovation speed
Week of 15 November 2021: Innovation speed

Getting innovation right is crucial to optimizing profitability. Too soon, and the equipment may not be able to deliver as promised. Too late and your competition may have already eclipsed you.

More ...
Environmental agencies slam New-Indy mill in Catawba, claim new environmental violations
Environmental agencies slam New-Indy mill in Catawba, claim new environmental violations

The new allegations come as New-Indy Containerboard remains under federal and state orders to reduce hydrogen sulfide emissions at its Catawba mill.

More ...
Week of 8 November 2021: Innovation as you go
Week of 8 November 2021: Innovation as you go

There have been many attempts to institutionalize innovation. Sometimes the domiciles of higher education seem to think they have a lock on innovation capabilities. Likely, in some areas, they do. The innovation with near term payoff, however, often takes place at the millsite. It is an activity in which everyone can participate and can be made into a fun (and profitable) activity if structured correctly.

More ...
Week of 1 November 2021: Innovation Month
Week of 1 November 2021: Innovation Month

We are in the process of revitalizing and restarting the Light Green Machine Institute, a 501c3 educational institute we created back around 2008. The Light Green Machine Institute's mission statement is "Holistically reducing the environmental impact of pulp and paper processing."

More ...
Stora Enso launches new fluff pulp grade with lower carbon footprint
Stora Enso launches new fluff pulp grade with lower carbon footprint

NaturaFluff Eco is an oxygen-delignified fluff pulp, which means that no bleaching chemicals are used in its production.

More ...
Stora Enso sets ambitious goal of 100% regenerative solutions by 2050
Stora Enso sets ambitious goal of 100% regenerative solutions by 2050

Stora Enso is also committing to new 2030 targets for its key sustainability priorities: climate change, biodiversity and circularity.

More ...
Week of 25 October 2021: The fourth step in Quality
Week of 25 October 2021: The fourth step in Quality

The fourth step in quality is the training and morale of your personnel. All your employees need to be thoroughly trained for the job at hand and not only trained but taught to think so that they can take action when they see something occur that can affect quality.

More ...
Week of 18 October 2021: The third step in Quality
Week of 18 October 2021: The third step in Quality

The third step in Quality is the quality of your raw materials. Some might have thought this is the second step. No, it's the third, for you don't know the quality of raw materials required until you know the quality you are promising your customers.

More ...
McDonald's in Canada Starts using Wooden Cutlery, Paper Straws
McDonald's in Canada Starts using Wooden Cutlery, Paper Straws

The wooden utensils and stir sticks are being implemented in the restaurants this month and the company expects the last plastic straw to be used in Canada by December. This will remove single-use plastics and is part of McDonald's plan to source all its primary customer packaging with renewable or recycled sources.

More ...
Metsä Board Husum commits to comprehensive and speedy clean-up of oil spill
Metsä Board Husum commits to comprehensive and speedy clean-up of oil spill

The root cause of the incident is being investigated. Metsä Board is supporting the ongoing investigation with all the necessary resources.

More ...
Week of 11 October 2021: The second step in Quality
Week of 11 October 2021: The second step in Quality

The second step in Quality is a solid standard of product performance. If you are in the tissue and towel business, these are likely internal standards. If you are in the containerboard or other paper products businesses, these are likely recognized industry standards. You don't know what quality is if you can't define it.

More ...
More Than 810 Companies Have Removed Misleading Anti-Paper Statements in Response to Two Sides Global Anti-Greenwash Campaign
More Than 810 Companies Have Removed Misleading Anti-Paper Statements in Response to Two Sides Global Anti-Greenwash Campaign

Since 2010, the Two Sides campaign has successfully influenced the change or removal of misleading environmental claims by more than 810 organizations globally, 149 of them in the United States and Canada, including many of the world's largest corporations.

More ...
Cascades Containerboard fined $375,000 for stench from Niagara Falls paper mill
Cascades Containerboard fined $375,000 for stench from Niagara Falls paper mill

Cascades Containerboard Packaging Inc. has signed a consent order agreeing to the monetary penalty and the plant upgrades, the Department of Environmental Conservation announced Thursday.

More ...
Residents file motion to intervene in EPA litigation against New Indy, put immediate end to pollution
Residents file motion to intervene in EPA litigation against New Indy, put immediate end to pollution

Area residents impacted by the stench and toxic emissions released by the New Indy paper mill are seeking accountability from the mill.

More ...
Week of 4 October 2021: The first step in Quality
Week of 4 October 2021: The first step in Quality

The first step in the path to producing a quality product is the housekeeping in your facility. I know I sound like a broken record, but in truth, housekeeping is the first step in many actions in your mill or converting facility. I have never seen quality products consistently produced in dirty or sloppy facilities. It is just not possible.

More ...
Week of 27 September 2021: Get out of your office
Week of 27 September 2021: Get out of your office

If you are the top person on your site, get out of your office and visit your people regularly. I recommend 6 a.m. rounds, with flashlight and small notepad in hand to take notes on what you find (or put them on your phone). Shake hands, get to know your people. If you are over a large facility, don't do it all in a day, but make sure you visit every department at least once per week.

More ...
Week of 20 September 2021: Human/Machine Interface today
Week of 20 September 2021: Human/Machine Interface today

Where human/machine interface is going in our paper mills is hard to guess, it seems to be just at the cusp of arriving as we implement Industry 4.0. On one hand, it will make us better papermakers, but on the other, like my automobile experiences, we will likely have many of the unconscious dependencies...

More ...
P&G Accelerates Action on Climate Change Toward Net Zero GHG Emissions by 2040
P&G Accelerates Action on Climate Change Toward Net Zero GHG Emissions by 2040

P&G publishes Climate Transition Action Plan and sets new science-based targets.

More ...
Week of 13 September 2021: Video Games and Paper Machine Operation
Week of 13 September 2021: Video Games and Paper Machine Operation

I was assistant project manager in the engineering department at a mill back in the early 1980's. I have referenced this experience a number of times in this column over the years. One of the upgrades we made at the time was to go from pneumatic controls to digital computer control. This means that the machine, which only a few days ago was operated from benchboard on the floor was now operated from a control room. Now a mere month later, the bench boards are gone. Keep in mind, the crews on this machine had been running it from benchboards for about 14 years...

More ...
Week of 6 September 2021: Management Today
Week of 6 September 2021: Management Today

This is my 52nd September in the workforce. I think management is tougher than ever. Think about it--when I started even OSHA did not exist. People were glad to have jobs and they put up with all sorts of things at work that simply aren't tolerated today, both from the standpoint of society's mores and from a labor regulatory perspective.

More ...
North American paper industry merger sets off environmental alarms
North American paper industry merger sets off environmental alarms

Canadian firm Paper Excellence plans to acquire U.S. pulp and paper giant Domtar, with shareholders overwhelmingly approving the proposed merger.

More ...
Week of 30 August 2021: Fos wraps up for 2021
Week of 30 August 2021: Fos wraps up for 2021

Silas, the CEO of REO, wasn't finished last week. He had another story he wanted to relate.

More ...
Rayonier Releases 2020 Sustainability Report and Updated Carbon Report
Rayonier Releases 2020 Sustainability Report and Updated Carbon Report

Roseburg says the new product was engineered with machinability in mind and provides the best performance in the market for profiling, cutting, and custom designs.

More ...
Week of 23 August 2021: Fos continues...
Week of 23 August 2021: Fos continues...

After a few lights of recreation, the Great Mother convened us once again. "Rats," she announced, "Let me introduce the Rat 'Em Out Detective Agency. You can just call them "REO" for short." Six wizened looking old rats came to the front of the room.

More ...
Paper, Climate Change and Common Sense
Paper, Climate Change and Common Sense

Paper producers' commitment to sustainable forest management, the use of renewable, carbon neutral energy, and strong support and investment in recycling has transformed the circularity of paper products from vision to reality, and will help to drive further GHG emission reductions.

More ...
Billionaire Kraft's New-Indy paper mill causes pollution crisis in South Carolina
Billionaire Kraft's New-Indy paper mill causes pollution crisis in South Carolina

The complaints over large releases of hydrogen sulfide, a gas that smells like rotten eggs and causes headaches and even death in concentrated doses, from the New-Indy paper mill in Catawba, South Carolina, have resulted in federal and state orders to reduce its emissions. Three federal civil lawsuits have been filed against the company, alleging the odor is harming families.

More ...
Week of 16 August 2021: Fos continues...
Week of 16 August 2021: Fos continues...

The Great Mother called the meeting to order after a short break. "Who has a case for us?" Dis came up the side aisle. There were a lot of rats at the meeting. They had been attracted by the thoughts of a trip to the Big Things capital city and to their building where the biggest rats of all congregated. The Great Mother seemed to be in a benevolent mood, "And what is your story, my child?" "In the mill where I work, there is this female Big Thing. I should say, 'there was.' She is in jail now."

More ...
Week of 9 August 2021: Fos continues...
Week of 9 August 2021: Fos continues...

The Rats arrived at the big building with the big half ball on top. What we didn't count on is how bad it stinks inside! Don't know how the Big Things stand it, but after a day or two, we pretty much got used to it. I guess because it has been here a long time and gotten saturated with the residuals of Big Thing's activities causes it to stink so. The Great Mother called us to order. "Thank you for coming. As usual, the Big Things have been working overtime again creating havoc and committing crimes throughout the land. What's on the docket today?"

More ...
Week of 2 August 2021: Already, it is corruption month again!
Week of 2 August 2021: Already, it is corruption month again!

By Jim Thompson interpreting for Fos the Rat: You Big Things may think we rats are in the dark about your activities. Of course, if you have been reading this column for any length of time, you know that is not true. I (Fos) have been reporting on your misdeeds and malfeasance since August of 2015. Yes, this makes the seventh year Mr. Jim has yielded his column to me for the month of August.

More ...
Week of 26 July 2021: Environmentalism--an (un)educated public
Week of 26 July 2021: Environmentalism--an (un)educated public

If you have read this series of July columns, you might be thinking I take a dim view of environmentalism principles. I don't--as long as they are measured in their application or make good economic sense. Don't trust the public to be informed. I'll use an example that is not necessarily environmental to prove my point and to show you some of the ways misinformation abounds...

More ...
Week of 19 July 2021: Environmentalism--Marketing
Week of 19 July 2021: Environmentalism--Marketing

You would be hard pressed to find a topic or concept more universally and shamelessly exploited as a marketing aid than environmentalism. Positive vibes from environmentalism are used by nearly every marketer on earth to show alignment of their products and services with clean air, clean water and less landfill waste. It is a safe bet--who doesn't want clean air, clean water and less landfill waste? Sadly, as an industry, we were a bit slow on the uptake.

More ...
DuPont, spinoffs to pay $50M for 'forever chemical' cleanup
DuPont, spinoffs to pay $50M for 'forever chemical' cleanup

DuPont and Corteva, previously the agriculture division of DowDuPont, will each contribute $12.5 million. Chemours, DuPont's former performance chemicals unit, will contribute $25 million.

More ...
Proposed Verso permit would allow some air pollutants to rise
Proposed Verso permit would allow some air pollutants to rise

State environmental officials are accepting public comment until July 27 on an application that allows for a modest increase in pulp production at Verso's mill in Quinnesec, while allowing the maximum release of some air pollutants to rise by hundreds of tons per year, including a doubling of particulate matter.

More ...
New-Indy Containerboard asks judge to dismiss 'foul odor' lawsuit
New-Indy Containerboard asks judge to dismiss 'foul odor' lawsuit

In its nearly 700-page motion, New-Indy Containerboard cited three reasons why a judge should dismiss the first lawsuit filed against them back in May.

More ...
Week of 12 July 2021: Environmentalism--Weaponized
Week of 12 July 2021: Environmentalism--Weaponized

Never heard of the Sunrise Movement? You should check them out--www.sunrisemovement.org. On 28 June 2021, they blocked all entrances to the White House to get attention. Some were promptly arrested. One might characterize the Sunrise Movement as Greenpeace on steroids. Youth oriented, the Sunrise Movement has a multifaceted activism focusing on the environment and the Green New Deal. On their website, they list twelve principles. You will have to deal with them.

More ...
Week of 5 July 2021: Environmentalism--Science
Week of 5 July 2021: Environmentalism--Science

In the innocent days of the 1970's, the US Environmental Protection Agency was formed. It came into being on 9 July 1970. Other countries had formed similar bodies in the same era. Sweden's was founded in 1967, for instance. Others were formed as late as the 1990's. Back in those days, air and water pollution were spewing forth with little control and little was being done about it. The correct approach was science coupled with appropriate regulations. This has happened worldwide now, by one of two methods.

More ...
Week of 28 June 2021: Procurement Expediting Tales, part 3
Week of 28 June 2021: Procurement Expediting Tales, part 3

In this final set of scenarios, I was in the role of Services Manager (responsible for maintenance, engineering, and the technical and power departments) at a mill in Ohio. We were having trouble with contaminants in our recycled fiber supply. The state-of-the-art solution at the time was to replace screen baskets with holes with ones with very small slots. Of course, like all such situations, this solution had spread around the industry as fast as it would on Facebook today (but this was pre-internet). We had screen baskets of the requisite specifications on order, but delivery was months away.

More ...
Week of 21 June 2021: Procurement Expediting Tales, part 2
Week of 21 June 2021: Procurement Expediting Tales, part 2

We were in the middle of engineering and planning a rebuild. Our instrument engineer comes strolling into my office one morning. He's concerned about the delivery of the new distributed control system. On the paper machine, we were going from bench boards on the operating floor (with pneumatic controls) to a digital system in a new control room. Huge change. Our instrument engineer, I'll call him Jeff, was getting conflicting stories from the supplier concerning delivery. I told him to make a couple of more calls, and if he was not happy with the answers he was getting, we would jump on a plane. We jumped on a plane.

More ...
DS Smith paper machine is setting new records in power-efficiency
DS Smith paper machine is setting new records in power-efficiency

These two papermaking machines at Kemsley mill account for over half of the mill's average annual production capacity of over 840,000-tonnes.

More ...
Week of 14 June 2021: Procurement Expediting Tales, part 1
Week of 14 June 2021: Procurement Expediting Tales, part 1

As I mentioned last week, we are in a new era of shortages, delays and high costs. Back when many of you engineers and purchasing agents in the mills in the United States were still watching Sesame Street, some of us were going to extraordinary lengths to get the goods our mills needed to stay on schedule and operating. You may need to start thinking this way, too--but be sure to read the safety cautions at the end of this column.

More ...
DS Smith Targets Net Zero emissions by 2050
DS Smith Targets Net Zero emissions by 2050

DS Smith has announced a series of ambitious climate targets. This includes a science-based target which requires at least a 40% reduction of CO2 emissions per tonne of product by 2030, compared to 2019 levels, and a commitment to reach Net Zero emissions by 2050.

More ...
Week of 7 June 2021: Procurement Month Arrived Early This Year
Week of 7 June 2021: Procurement Month Arrived Early This Year

This is the month I talk about procurement. If you buyers or purchasing agents have been moping around for years, thinking you are not getting any recognition, those days are over. Suddenly, you are the center of attention. Pricing and schedule are paramount these days.

More ...
Week of 31 May 2021: Energy Decision Caution
Week of 31 May 2021: Energy Decision Caution

As I wrap up the energy columns for this month, I wanted to leave you with a few words of caution.

More ...
Week of 24 May 2021: Energy Strategy--does this make sense?
Week of 24 May 2021: Energy Strategy--does this make sense?

We have traditionally calculated the investment in energy projects based on savings against alternatives, fuel supply availability or regulatory requirements. What if we drag the marketing folks into the equation and ask them how much more product they could sell or what kind of a competitive advantage they could realize if they could say your facilities and products are more favorable on the carbon question than other manufacturers? Is there a piece of the economic question that could be answered with this discussion?

More ...
Week of 17 May 2021: When your infrastructure is worth more than your mill
Week of 17 May 2021: When your infrastructure is worth more than your mill

For decades I have been saying the pulp and paper industry is one of the most exciting sectors in the manufacturing world. It is full of surprises, never ceases to be entertaining and is continually offering new ways to succeed. Now an outfit called Allrise Capital has once again reinforced my beliefs in this thinking.

More ...
Week of 3 May 2021: What is your energy strategy now?
Week of 3 May 2021: What is your energy strategy now?

Regardless of your personal beliefs or the science you (do) (do not) believe, carbon neutrality is in your energy future. There are many high-profile companies and CEOs involved in the "CEO Carbon Neutral Challenge" including our own advertising partner, SAP. The Carbon Neutral Challenge has a list of six guiding principles.

More ...
Week of 10 May 2021: What is your energy strategy now? Part 2
Week of 10 May 2021: What is your energy strategy now? Part 2

Here in the United States, with a change in administrations, there is often a change in energy policy. It seems no different this time. If you will recall, many times I have said all energy policy is political. This has not changed. My confidential touchstone on energy activity tells me energy research requests are up, too.

More ...
Week of 26 April 2021: The Extremes of Safety--Discernment
Week of 26 April 2021: The Extremes of Safety--Discernment

Occasionally you will run into a safety situation that is not covered by your training. What to do? My approach to such situations is multi-pronged. Urgency, risk, obvious and unknown are adjectives I would use to describe my approach in these matters, coupled with a heightened awareness of my surroundings.

More ...
EPA now involved with odor issue in South Carolina involving New Indy mill
EPA now involved with odor issue in South Carolina involving New Indy mill

Complaints of the smell started to pick up in March, but started coming in around the New Indy mill, located in Catawba, S.C., as early as February. This is the first month the mill had been operational since shutting down in September 2020 to make the change from producing bleached paper to brown paper.

More ...
Show Don't Tell When It Comes to Reminding Consumers to Recycle
Show Don't Tell When It Comes to Reminding Consumers to Recycle

New research from the Carton Council reinforces that consumers don't speak the same language as those in the recycling and packaging industries.

More ...
Pregis Joins The Climate Pledge
Pregis Joins The Climate Pledge

Pregis, a leading global manufacturer of protective packaging, announces that it has joined The Climate Pledge, a commitment to be net-zero carbon by 2040--a decade ahead of the Paris Agreement's goal of 2050.

More ...
Week of 19 April 2021: The Extremes of Safety--Routine
Week of 19 April 2021: The Extremes of Safety--Routine

Last week, we talked about excitement creating dangerous safety conditions. This week let's talk about the opposite--routine creating dangerous safety conditions. Because we work around large machinery, clamp trucks and so forth, which, for the most part behave as they should, we become complacent that about these items. Paper machines can kill--and they have. Clamp trucks can kill--and they have. Dynamic accidents (things flying apart, things falling) are dangerous.

More ...
Week of 12 April 2021: The Extremes of Safety--Excitement
Week of 12 April 2021: The Extremes of Safety--Excitement

One of the most dangerous times, at work, home or wherever is when we get excited. When excited, we often don't think about safety. How many times have you come into the mill excited (perhaps by the traffic you had just driven in)? How many times have you left the mill excited, with plans to go on vacation or do something else exciting when you got off shift that day? How do we fix this?

More ...
Week of 5 April 2021: The Safety Conflict
Week of 5 April 2021: The Safety Conflict

The pressure to meet production goals is directly in conflict with safety procedures unless you work hard and creatively to take the conflict out of this scenario, for there is a conflict here, no matter what anyone says. In reality, doing tasks the safest way is often the most efficient way.

More ...
SCA appeals Land and Environmental Court ruling and harvesting ban
SCA appeals Land and Environmental Court ruling and harvesting ban

In February 2021, the Land and Environmental Court in Östersund upheld an appeal from the Skydda Skogen (Protect the Forest) association regarding a number of harvesting notifications on SCA land in Jämtland and Härjedalen.

More ...
Week of 29 March 2021: Boneyard Blues
Week of 29 March 2021: Boneyard Blues

I hate boneyards. These piles of junk provide a false sense of security, causing clueless managers to think there is something there that can get them out of a maintenance jam. I haven't kept track, but my perception is that boneyards in my past caused far more problems than they cured.

More ...
SCA publishes Annual Report for 2020 with long-term sustainability targets
SCA publishes Annual Report for 2020 with long-term sustainability targets

SCA has established sustainability targets to be achieved by 2030. One of the targets is to increase the company's climate benefit by 50 per cent to 15 Million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year.

More ...
Week of 22 March 2021: Overdependence
Week of 22 March 2021: Overdependence

From July 1925 to December 1970, Popular Science Monthly, a familiar magazine here in the US, ran a feature called Gus Wilson's Model Garage. The typical story was an automobile owner who came to the garage with a vexing car problem. Gus, through his experience, wit and intuition, could figure out the problem and put the driver back on the road, problem solved. In our pulp and paper mills today, perhaps we need more Gus's.

More ...
PEFC response to Greenpeace report
PEFC response to Greenpeace report "Destruction: Certified"

PEFC notes the concerns voiced by Greenpeace in a recent report, namely that '[c]ertification on its own has not helped companies meet their 2020 commitments to exclude deforestation from their supply chains' and cautions that certification was never designed - and never claimed - to do so on its own.

More ...
Week of 15 March 2021: Maintenance--it is not just wrenches and volt meters any longer
Week of 15 March 2021: Maintenance--it is not just wrenches and volt meters any longer

Risking raising the hackles of the IT department, this writer thinks it is time to fold IT into maintenance, for that is what it often is. IT should be held accountable for downtime, just like regular maintenance. Downtime should be broken into scheduled and unscheduled, just like regular maintenance and KPI's should be kept on it. Recently, one major company in our industry experienced a ransomware attack. Within two months, the CEO suddenly retired. Coincidence perhaps, but who on the outside knows?

More ...
Sappi Skowhegan paper mill 'strongly disputes' lawsuit alleging fault for contaminating water wells
Sappi Skowhegan paper mill 'strongly disputes' lawsuit alleging fault for contaminating water wells

Sappi North America, the company that owns the Skowhegan mill, made the statement Monday following the filing of a lawsuit that alleges the mill is the source of high levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl compounds, known as PFAS, in a growing number of wells.

More ...
Maine man files class-action lawsuit against Sappi paper mill over 'forever chemicals'
Maine man files class-action lawsuit against Sappi paper mill over 'forever chemicals'

The lawsuit alleges Sappi's Somerset Mill in Skowhegan is the source of the PFAS found in Somerset County water wells and at other sites.

More ...
Week of 8 March 2021: Who dominated your mill design--operations or maintenance?
Week of 8 March 2021: Who dominated your mill design--operations or maintenance?

With experience, one can walk on to an operating floor and determine which faction, operations or maintenance, had the larger influence in a paper mill's design. It is really quite easy. The first giveaway is the width of the operating, or tending, aisle versus the drive aisle.

More ...
Ministry of Environment reviewing incident with Resolute Forest Products effluent in Thunder Bay, Ont.
Ministry of Environment reviewing incident with Resolute Forest Products effluent in Thunder Bay, Ont.

The Ministry of the Environment says it will continue to look into an incident where Resolute Forest Products was discharging "higher than normal contaminant levels" through its effluent into the Kaministiquia River.

More ...
Week of 1 March 2021: Maintenance Month
Week of 1 March 2021: Maintenance Month

Is there anything left to be said about maintenance that I have not already said in the last twenty years of writing this column? Yes, there is always something to be said about maintenance. We have more tools, monitoring devices, tracking systems, more than we have ever had before, yet we still have unscheduled maintenance above the levels that should be acceptable in most mills. What should be our standard for maintenance? May I suggest the airline industry?

More ...
Week of 22 February 2021: Improving Society One Boxcar at a Time
Week of 22 February 2021: Improving Society One Boxcar at a Time

By accepting graffiti laden railcars on your site, you are approving of a certain level of mediocrity and malaise associated with your business. Further, you are contributing to a plague on society, every time those railcars pass through any town in the country, not just when they are near or on your property. Cleaning up the railcars will be a huge boost to the overall morale of society.

More ...
Week of 15 February 2021: Horizontal Transportation
Week of 15 February 2021: Horizontal Transportation

The containerboard industry sorely needs its own "conex" for rolls wider than 110 inches. This needs to be a system that allows rolls to be placed horizontally, or perhaps, at an angle to reduce the height normally achieved by vertical rolls.

More ...
PCA Wallula paper mill fined $28,500 for air pollution
PCA Wallula paper mill fined $28,500 for air pollution

The Packaging Corporation of America's Wallula paper mill has been fined $28,500 by the Washington Department of Ecology for air pollution released from the facility's wastewater treatment plant.

More ...
Week of 8 February 2021: Vertical Transportation
Week of 8 February 2021: Vertical Transportation

Vertical transportation systems, that is, those which stack goods vertically, tend to occupy disproportionately more space than one would first think due to the need to have aisles to retrieve those goods in storage. From a floorspace allocation perspective, only half of the floor is devoted to storage, the other half is devoted to space for retrieval equipment to operate. One system I have seen that overcomes this problem is a vertical storage finished roll warehouse.

More ...
Week of 1 February 2021: Electric Trucks
Week of 1 February 2021: Electric Trucks

In transportation month last year, we talked about electric trucks. We are still talking about electric trucks today and for years to come.

More ...
State of Michigan takes enforcement action against Graphic Packaging
State of Michigan takes enforcement action against Graphic Packaging

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) Air Quality Division is taking escalated enforcement against Graphic Packaging, according to a news release Wednesday.

More ...
Smurfit Kappa sets new sustainability targets with Better Planet 2050
Smurfit Kappa sets new sustainability targets with Better Planet 2050

Better Planet 2050 quantifies Smurfit Kappa's continued commitment to sustainability, targeting environmental and social sustainability in areas where it believes it can have the greatest impact.

More ...
DuPont, Chemours in $4 Billion 'Forever Chemicals' Cost Pact
DuPont, Chemours in $4 Billion 'Forever Chemicals' Cost Pact

DuPont, Chemours and Corteva announced a cost-sharing agreement worth $4 billion to settle lawsuits involving the historic use of the highly toxic "forever chemicals" known as PFAS.

More ...
Week of 25 January 2021: Do not forget to purge your files
Week of 25 January 2021: Do not forget to purge your files
More ...
Week of 25 January 2021: Do not forget to purge your files
Week of 25 January 2021: Do not forget to purge your files

Engineers and scientists have a propensity to save their data. Saved information can come back and bite your company and you. Many a career has been ruined by a fastidious hoarder. Even worse, most think, "it can't happen to me."

More ...
Week of 18 January 2021: Capital Project Leadership
Week of 18 January 2021: Capital Project Leadership

Project management is about leadership, not democracy. The objective is to complete the project at the least expenditure of time and money. Treat others with respect, yes, but have clearly defined roles for each person and hold them accountable for their piece, replace them if they cannot successfully accomplish their role. These days, we often spend too much time with our eyes off the prize.

More ...
Week of 11 January 2021: Learnings from quasi-public funding for Capital Project Management
Week of 11 January 2021: Learnings from quasi-public funding for Capital Project Management

Much of the mismanagement of capital projects could be eliminated, from my experience, if companies adopted the discipline of quasi-public funding project monitoring. These are projects which are not financed through balance sheets but by issuance of tax-exempt or taxable project specific debt. In the last thirty years, I have had experience as the Technical Advisor on 22 such projects (in pulp, paper, energy, steel, medium density fiberboard and cement) with an installed capital base of billions. I have seen a few things.

More ...
Pollution trial of Canada-owned pulp mill opens in France
Pollution trial of Canada-owned pulp mill opens in France

Fibre Excellence, owned by Paper Excellence which is headquartered in British Columbia, has been charged with "emitting polluting substances", notably heavy metals and nitrogen oxide gas.

More ...
Week of 4 January 2021: Capital Projects Month
Week of 4 January 2021: Capital Projects Month

After nearly fifty-one years in the business, my anecdotal guess is that about half of capital projects are successful, meaning: on time, on budget and fulfilling the original scope. The rest suffer from a myriad of deficiencies.

More ...
Week of 28 December 2020: Energy in the Future
Week of 28 December 2020: Energy in the Future

To wrap up this month on energy columns, I thought I would go to the brightest group I know in the energy business--the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (www.nrel.gov) in Golden, Colorado. NREL had an end of year seminar on the future of energy generation in the United States, 2020 - 2050.

More ...
Week of 21 December 2020: Hydrogen?
Week of 21 December 2020: Hydrogen?

As we continue to talk about energy this month, we would be remiss if we do not bring up hydrogen as a potential fuel. Of course, hydrogen is the "perfect" fuel for combustion, for the "exhaust" is water (H2 + O => H2O). The problem in the past has been that it has not be plentiful or economical.

More ...
Canada's Forest Sector Offers Recommendations to Federal Government on Green Recovery
Canada's Forest Sector Offers Recommendations to Federal Government on Green Recovery

Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) released Innovative, Sustainable, Resilient: Recommendations from Canada's Forest Sector to Drive Economic Recovery and a Net-Zero Carbon Future.

More ...
Week of 14 December 2020: Solar becomes serious
Week of 14 December 2020: Solar becomes serious

In a decade, I've moved from being a skeptic to saying some alternative energy sources just may be possible for our industry right around the corner.

More ...
Week of 7 December 2020: Power and Energy--I told you so
Week of 7 December 2020: Power and Energy--I told you so

Several times in this column over the years, I have told you to not demolish energy assets (that are in good shape) just because you stopped using them. Properly secure and preserve them and wait for policies to change. With an impending change in federal administrations here in the United States, expect an energy priority change within a year. This may come about by regulation changes or economics (the ranking of various fuel costs changing). These changes may be so severe they push some mills out of business.

More ...
Week of 30 November 2020: Strategy
Week of 30 November 2020: Strategy

This is supposed to be innovation and strategy month but up to this point, I have focused on innovation. Strategy is important, too, but strategy must be focused on solid science, statistics and mathematics. I have seen many strategic initiatives fail over the years. That does not mean we should stop doing them, it means we should make sure our foundation was solid.

More ...
Canada's Forestry Sector Supports Federal Move Toward Net-Zero Emmissions by 2050
Canada's Forestry Sector Supports Federal Move Toward Net-Zero Emmissions by 2050

Canada's federal government tabled a bill that will put Canada on the path to meet net-zero emission targets by 2050. Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) supports this move to chart a course for clean growth and net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

More ...
Week of 23 November 2020: Innovation by Elimination
Week of 23 November 2020: Innovation by Elimination

We usually think of innovation as being creative and coming up with some gee whiz new idea. If you have been in business for more than a week, it is easier than that. Just use a critical eye to eliminate the unnecessary. The unnecessary comes in many forms.

More ...
Week of 16 November 2020: Innovation--be aware of your surroundings
Week of 16 November 2020: Innovation--be aware of your surroundings

There are many failures in innovation. One chronic failure to keep in mind is to be aware of your surroundings. You may think you have a fantastic idea. But if it is not obvious that it solves a problem or it is a solution more complicated than the original problem, it likely will fail.

More ...
Huhtamaki publishes its first stakeholder report on what is needed to design for circularity
Huhtamaki publishes its first stakeholder report on what is needed to design for circularity

The global food packaging industry is setting ambitious targets to make its operations more sustainable, working on designing for circularity across systems and products. However, lasting solutions need cooperation between different contributors.

More ...
Week of 9 November 2020: Whence comes innovation?
Week of 9 November 2020: Whence comes innovation?

Innovation is a process of the desperate and the opportunistic. There are countless examples through history where, with backs against the walls, innovators have broken through. The Internet, a solution in search of a problem, was probably the biggest innovation of all time, at least in communications. The paper grades that died, had they caught on early enough, may have survived in a better fashion than they did. However, it was not in the mindset of the people and entities involved to (a) perceive they were in trouble or (b) do something about it. So, within our industry, where will innovation come in the near future?

More ...
City of Kalamazoo, Mich. reaches $5.4 million settlement with Georgia-Pacific and 3M over PFAS contamination
City of Kalamazoo, Mich. reaches $5.4 million settlement with Georgia-Pacific and 3M over PFAS contamination

The Kalamazoo City Commission has voted to accept a $5.4 million settlement with Georgia-Pacific and 3M over PFAS contamination in the City of Parchment and Cooper Township.

More ...
Week of 2 November 2020: What happened to jute liner? (part 3 of 3)
Week of 2 November 2020: What happened to jute liner? (part 3 of 3)

Finishing up... There are two extraordinary transient conditions at the present time. One is well under way, and the other is just around the corner.

More ...
Old Town, Maine ND Paper mill spills 30,000 gallons of pulping chemicals into Penobscot River
Old Town, Maine ND Paper mill spills 30,000 gallons of pulping chemicals into Penobscot River

More than 30,000 gallons of pulping chemicals from the ND Paper mill in Old Town leaked into the Penobscot River earlier this month, violating state and federal laws, according to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.

More ...
Week of 26 October 2020: What happened to jute liner? (part 2 of 3)
Week of 26 October 2020: What happened to jute liner? (part 2 of 3)

Picking up from last week... With the push from landfill costs in Europe and the United States, plus the other drivers I have mentioned previously, manufacturers and scientists began to work in earnest on the performance requirements for recycled containerboard products.

More ...
Week of 19 October 2020: What happened to jute liner? (part 1 of 3)
Week of 19 October 2020: What happened to jute liner? (part 1 of 3)

This is a story of quality improvement, one that many today may not know.

More ...
Huhtamaki donation helps clean plastics from the Mithi River in Mumbai, India
Huhtamaki donation helps clean plastics from the Mithi River in Mumbai, India

Huhtamaki is donating €600,000 to fund a project that aims to stop the flow of plastic into the Indian Ocean from the Mithi River in Mumbai, India. The project is one of three initiatives that Huhtamaki has funded as part of its 100-year anniversary to address global sustainability challenges and build and learn from circular economy initiatives globally.

More ...
Week of 12 October 2020: Quality--a paradox of Consumer Demand and Employee Performance
Week of 12 October 2020: Quality--a paradox of Consumer Demand and Employee Performance

I strongly suspect this observation has always gone along with becoming a septuagenarian, but I am not sure, having not been one before. Yet when I was younger, it seemed as though older employees around me were always griping about the younger generations (lazy, did not know what they were doing, caused a lot of rework and so forth). Well, this septuagenarian has some of the same feelings. I note at the same time that customer and competitive driven demands of our products dictate higher and higher quality levels. I heard it explained this way once...

More ...
Week of 5 October 2020: They don't make 'em like they used to
Week of 5 October 2020: They don't make 'em like they used to

I belong to a couple of old car groups on Facebook. Every week or so, some folks get into mild arguments concerning the quality of automobiles. The argument always goes the same--the cars of the '50's and '60's were much better than the cars of today. Are you kidding me? The cars of today are fantastic and, for all their gee-whiz features, cheap. A $3,500 car in 1965 would cost nearly $29,000 today. For that kind of money today you can get a car with better safety protection, air conditioning, lane control assist and so forth. I know, because I bought one for that kind of money last year. Same with paper. The paper, any grade, of 50 years ago was nothing compared to the paper of today. On a constant cost basis, today's paper is very, very inexpensive...

More ...
Department of Environmental Protection: Appvion caused fish kill
Department of Environmental Protection: Appvion caused fish kill

Notices of violation filed after dye spill at Roaring Spring paper mill.

More ...
Week of 28 September 2020: What are you worth?
Week of 28 September 2020: What are you worth?

Friend of mine recently told me a story. It went like this. Decades ago, when he was first hired by a major company in this industry, his boss sat him down and said, "We have your salary wrong." This was a startling revelation. The boss went on, "When we hire young folks like you, we slot you into the system based on lots of studies and identifying attributes. But it is all just a guess. For sure, what you are worth is not reflected in your salary right now, for we are just not that smart. In a few months, we'll have a better idea of what you are worth. We may be overpaying you or underpaying you now, but the truth will come out in time..."

More ...
Nekoosa, Wisconsin closes streets by Domtar paper mill as crews respond to chlorine dioxide leak
Nekoosa, Wisconsin closes streets by Domtar paper mill as crews respond to chlorine dioxide leak

A chemical spill Tuesday at Domtar caused fire and police departments to reroute city traffic while workers contained it.

More ...
Week of 21 September 2020: A curious loss of competitive edge
Week of 21 September 2020: A curious loss of competitive edge

As we continue to talk about management issues this month, I want to bring up something that has been bothering me for a long time. It is simply this...in the human resources area I think well developed countries may be losing a competitive edge when it comes to thinking about the newer generations of employees, hourly and salaried, entering our mills these days. My thoughts are these...

More ...
PotlatchDeltic Releases Inaugural Environmental, Social, and Governance Report
PotlatchDeltic Releases Inaugural Environmental, Social, and Governance Report

The report serves as a foundation for demonstrating how the Company's ESG approach, strategies and commitments are embedded within the business, highlights ESG achievements for fiscal 2019, and sets the stage for ESG goals and continued disclosures.

More ...
WestRock in Evadale, Texas to receive 'notice of violation' after complaints about 'ash-like substance' on surrounding properties
WestRock in Evadale, Texas to receive 'notice of violation' after complaints about 'ash-like substance' on surrounding properties

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality says a 'nuisance condition' was confirmed during its investigation into an 'ash-like substance' near the WestRock facility in Evadale.

More ...
Week of 14 September 2020: When you are lost as a manager
Week of 14 September 2020: When you are lost as a manager

Especially when I was a younger manager, I would lose sight of the objectives at hand. After all, forces are tugging you in a million different directions at once, it is easily to become distracted. Print this column and carry it around in your pocket if you need to for a while.

More ...
Lawsuit claims Michigan's Graphic Packaging paper mill is stinking out its neighbors
Lawsuit claims Michigan's Graphic Packaging paper mill is stinking out its neighbors

Graphic Packaging International is named as a defendant in a complaint filed in U.S. District Court by a Detroit firm representing clients who live near the company's mill at 1500 N. Pitcher Street in Kalamazoo.

More ...
$1 billion river cleanup project completed after nearly 17 years
$1 billion river cleanup project completed after nearly 17 years

The companies responsible for the pollution, NCR Corporation, Georgia-Pacific and Glatfelter, are paying for the cost of the project and will continue to pay into follow-up costs as the river continues to recover from the pollution. Cleanup costs are estimated to have reached $1 billion.

More ...
Week of 7 September 2020: So you want a new job
Week of 7 September 2020: So you want a new job

We will cover three topics this week.

More ...
Week of 31 August 2020: The Big Lie
Week of 31 August 2020: The Big Lie

I returned to the convention and another case was just wrapping up. Missed it. Sorry. The Great Mother said, "Any more cases?" The clerk responded, "Gup is here and has something to say about project management." "Come on up, Gup!"

More ...
Fish kill blamed on Verso black liquor release
Fish kill blamed on Verso black liquor release

Officials with the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy said a recent fish kill along the southern reaches of the Escanaba River at Gladstone was the result of a pipe failure at Verso Corporation's Escanaba Paper Mill.

More ...
Domtar Completes Successful FSC® Certification of the Wabigoon Forest in Ontario, Canada
Domtar Completes Successful FSC® Certification of the Wabigoon Forest in Ontario, Canada

Domtar has successfully completed a surveillance audit on the Wabigoon Forest for the new Forest Stewardship Council (FSC®) National Standard for Canada.

More ...
International Paper and The Nature Conservancy Expand Work to Scale Natural Climate Solutions in North America
International Paper and The Nature Conservancy Expand Work to Scale Natural Climate Solutions in North America

New methods balance the economic and environmental goals of local communities while reducing the carbon impact of logging and protecting biodiversity.

More ...
Week of 24 August 2020: Fos takes a trip
Week of 24 August 2020: Fos takes a trip

Well, while the convention continues, I wanted to take some time to tell you a story I witnessed firsthand. This happened many lights, ago, so many I can't count them. What Mr. Jim doesn't know is that I have been following him around for a very long time, since he was a young man. One time, on a certain project, it was his job to escort Big Things called "contractors" across the sea to check out some equipment that was to be installed at his papermill. When I heard about this, I was certain I did not want to miss it. So, I slid in his briefcase, went home with him, and then along on the trip.

More ...
DNR investigates hundreds of Escanaba River fish deaths near Verso paper mill
DNR investigates hundreds of Escanaba River fish deaths near Verso paper mill

The investigation into the kill is ongoing and Verso officials are cooperating, state officials said.

More ...
Week of 17 August 2020: Dealing with Suppliers
Week of 17 August 2020: Dealing with Suppliers

Our convention had finally settled down and we were getting a number of interesting stories. The Great Mother, after a break, ask if anyone had a story to relate, perhaps not from the pulp and paper industry, but that would be a lesson learned. Old Soc raised his tail...

More ...
International Paper Joins Savannah River Clean Water Fund
International Paper Joins Savannah River Clean Water Fund

International Paper, one of the world's leading producers of renewable, fiber-based packaging, pulp and paper, has joined the Savannah River Clean Water Fund (Fund), a coordinated effort to permanently protect and responsibly manage forests - nature's water filter - in the Savannah River watershed.

More ...
Week of 10 August 2020: Where do we get these people?
Week of 10 August 2020: Where do we get these people?

Well, we finally got relocated to the new location. Much safer here than it was in that crazy city. The Great Mother called us to order. "Okay, rats, what do we have on the docket for today?"

More ...
Week of 3 August 2020: Corruption Month
Week of 3 August 2020: Corruption Month

Since last year, the Great Mother has passed on to Rat Heaven and we have a new cadre in charge. The word came out early in the year that we will be convening in a big city on a big lake in the middle of the country. There is a lot of pulp and paper business there and so many rats live fairly close at hand.

More ...
Week of 27 July 2020: Not an excuse
Week of 27 July 2020: Not an excuse

Environmental policies and other regulations are the cost of doing business in the modern civilized world. If you are going to operate a business in today's world, you must do it legally, it is part of the job. I have seen a number of excuses made over the years that do nothing to endear customers to businesses when such matters are used as excuses.

More ...
Stora Enso and Helsinki Olympic Stadium partner up to promote circular economy solutions
Stora Enso and Helsinki Olympic Stadium partner up to promote circular economy solutions

Stora Enso and Helsinki Olympic Stadium share the aim of promoting the use of renewable materials in customer and food service packaging to reduce the climate impact of stadium operations.

More ...
P&G Embraces Natural Climate Solutions to Accelerate Progress on Climate Change and Will Make Operations Carbon Neutral for the Decade
P&G Embraces Natural Climate Solutions to Accelerate Progress on Climate Change and Will Make Operations Carbon Neutral for the Decade

The Procter & Gamble Company announced a new commitment to have its global operations be carbon neutral for the decade through a series of interventions that protect, improve and restore nature.

More ...
Week of 20 July 2020: Keeping Focused
Week of 20 July 2020: Keeping Focused

I don't think there has ever been a time in my fifty years in industry that I have seen more potential hazards distracting us from our primary purpose in business which is, of course (all together), "spinning the invoice printer." We have been forced to step beyond the traditional corporate responsibilities (environment, regulations, equal opportunity employment and so forth).

More ...
Resolute Has Reduced Absolute GHG Emissions by 83% Since 2000
Resolute Has Reduced Absolute GHG Emissions by 83% Since 2000

Resolute continues to seek opportunities to reduce emissions and increase efficiencies.

More ...
Sofidel's emissions reduction targets have been approved by the Science Based Targets Initiative
Sofidel's emissions reduction targets have been approved by the Science Based Targets Initiative

The targets covering greenhouse gas emissions from the Sofidel Group's operations (scopes 1 and 2) are consistent with reductions required to keep warming to well-below 2°C.

More ...
Week of 13 July 2020: Has the Covid-19 experience soiled the Environmental Movement?
Week of 13 July 2020: Has the Covid-19 experience soiled the Environmental Movement?

I have met no one who doesn't want clean soil, water and air for themselves, their families and succeeding generations. How could anyone be against such attributes? Yet there are portions of the environmental movement that hinge on the invisible. The whole discussion on the proper balance of carbon dioxide that is appropriate in the atmosphere, for instance, is a discussion best left to learned scientists and mathematicians. Carbon dioxide, in its gaseous form is invisible. Just like Covid-19. The effects of Covid-19 are visible and timely while Covid-19 is just as invisible as Carbon Dioxide.

More ...
Brazil Burns Billions of Carbon Credits in Amazon Rout, CEO Says
Brazil Burns Billions of Carbon Credits in Amazon Rout, CEO Says

About 40% of Suzano's land is native forest and the rest is mostly eucalyptus plantations, which is renewed and expanded through the planting of 450,000 trees a day.

More ...
Week of 6 July 2020: Environmental/Regulations Month: the new rules today
Week of 6 July 2020: Environmental/Regulations Month: the new rules today

As we find ourselves mid-year 2020, our standard editorial topics for the month, Environmental/Regulations seem almost naïve. I have not heard anyone talk about the environment for months. There is plenty of talk about regulations, but they are not the kinds of regulations we normally talk about. The world of 2020 is something we have not seen before, and, on top of that, it is not a local thing--it is worldwide.

More ...
Ahlstrom-Munksjö's sustainability work awarded with fourth consecutive EcoVadis Gold rating
Ahlstrom-Munksjö's sustainability work awarded with fourth consecutive EcoVadis Gold rating

Ahlstrom-Munksjö has been awarded with EcoVadis Gold rating for the company's sustainability management and performance for the fourth consecutive year. Compared with the results from the previous year, progress was especially made in sustainable procurement.

More ...
Week of 29 June 2020: Purchasing and Graft
Week of 29 June 2020: Purchasing and Graft

The purchasing department should not only set the example for dealing with suppliers, the purchasing department should be the department that sets the policy for the entire mill. And, then, they should be the one that polices it, too. What is the right limit to be allowed for favors brought in by suppliers?

More ...
Kimberly-Clark Receives SBTi Approval for its Expanded Science-Based Climate Goals
Kimberly-Clark Receives SBTi Approval for its Expanded Science-Based Climate Goals

On the doorstep of a decisive decade for climate change, Kimberly-Clark has announced expanded new targets for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) and aligned with the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement.

More ...
Idled Northern Pulp mill in Nova Scotia seeking protection from creditors
Idled Northern Pulp mill in Nova Scotia seeking protection from creditors

An idled Nova Scotia pulp mill says it has received an "initial order" giving it protection from its creditors as it attempts to restructure its finances and affairs.

More ...
Week of 22 June 2020: Providing true expediting service to your mill
Week of 22 June 2020: Providing true expediting service to your mill

Granted, it is a long time since I was internal to a mill as an employee and just maybe this probably has been fixed by now, but I doubt it. I am talking about expediting services. By the way, Amazon provides expediting updates for free on the tiniest of orders--it is part of their overall service. So, do not tell me, purchasing department, you cannot do this.

More ...
Paper Excellence closing Mackenzie pulp mill
Paper Excellence closing Mackenzie pulp mill

The curtailment is expected to start in the last week June and will impact the mill's 253 employees, a statement issued by the company on Thursday said.

More ...
Week of 15 June 2020: You are not fooling anybody
Week of 15 June 2020: You are not fooling anybody

Once in a while, a purchasing department decides to get clever and extend payment terms. You can pull this stunt about once with each supplier. For when they figure it out, your prices are going up. Your suppliers and their competitors do not have to collude to raise your prices, they all instinctively know that if you are doing this to everyone, all your suppliers are going to pay you back in kind.

More ...
Northern Pulp appeals ministerial cleanup order, pauses environmental assessment
Northern Pulp appeals ministerial cleanup order, pauses environmental assessment

The parent company for the idled Northern Pulp mill says it has filed an appeal with the Nova Scotia Supreme Court related to a ministerial order issued last month for the management of the site.

More ...
Suzano removes 11.75 million tons of CO2e from the atmosphere in 2019
Suzano removes 11.75 million tons of CO2e from the atmosphere in 2019

The result of emissions and removal of greenhouse gases generated a climate positive balance of 11.75 million tons of CO2equivalent in 2019. In other words, the company removed almost 12 million tons of CO2e in 2019 from the atmosphere.

More ...
Week of 8 June 2020: Purchasing and Education
Week of 8 June 2020: Purchasing and Education

Last week we talked about the role of purchasing. I never once brought up negotiating a good price. I am not going to bring up negotiating a good price this week, either. This week, we will talk about educating the purchasing department. And we are not going to talk about contract writing as we talk about education.

More ...
Stora Enso invests Euro 40 million to reduce environmental impact of Oulu mill in Finland
Stora Enso invests Euro 40 million to reduce environmental impact of Oulu mill in Finland

The conversion of Stora Enso's Oulu paper mill into a containerboard mill has received an environmental permit from the Regional State Administrative Agency of Northern Finland.

More ...
Maryland lawsuit against paper mill owner Verso raises to the federal level
Maryland lawsuit against paper mill owner Verso raises to the federal level

Verso Corporation closed the Luke paper mill a little over one year ago due to profitability, the company said. Over 600 people lost their jobs from the closure. Then in December 2019, Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh filed a lawsuit in the Circuit Court for Allegany County regarding the alleged pulping liquor pollution.

More ...
Week of 1 June 2020: What is the role of purchasing?
Week of 1 June 2020: What is the role of purchasing?

Purchasing experiences in my career are legion and become cuter and cuter as time goes by. I have the whole month of June (5 columns) to explain this statement, so I'll not bother doing so now, but faithful readers will see it unfold as we go along. What is the first and most important job of purchasing?

More ...
Province expects Northern Pulp to follow latest order, despite company's concerns
Province expects Northern Pulp to follow latest order, despite company's concerns

Company says order is 'impractical' and shows 'a lack of understanding of the pulp and paper industry'.

More ...
Roseburg publishes environmental product declaration for Medford, Oregon, MDF products
Roseburg publishes environmental product declaration for Medford, Oregon, MDF products

Roseburg Forest Products has published its eighth certified Environmental Product Declaration, providing standardized and objective information about the lifecycle environmental impacts of the company's wood products, and now including Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF).

More ...
Week of 25 May 2020: One more view on energy trends
Week of 25 May 2020: One more view on energy trends

Energy is saved by the milliliter, not the liter or dekaliter. In order to do this, you must have everyone looking for the opportunities.

More ...
UPM to double the amount of broadleaved trees growing in its forests
UPM to double the amount of broadleaved trees growing in its forests

UPM plans to increase the proportion of broadleaved trees to one fifth of all tree species growing in habitats that are suitable for birch. The dominant tree species growing in Finnish forests are typically pine and spruce.

More ...
Smurfit Kappa aligning climate change goal with Science Based Target initiative
Smurfit Kappa aligning climate change goal with Science Based Target initiative

The move follows on from the packaging leader recently revealing in its 2019 Sustainable Development Report that it has reduced its fossil CO2 emission intensity by almost a third (32.9%) since 2005.

More ...
Nova Scotia to pay up to $10 million to assist cleanup of Northern Pulp site
Nova Scotia to pay up to $10 million to assist cleanup of Northern Pulp site

The Nova Scotia government says it is providing a maximum of $10 million under an agreement with the Northern Pulp mill to help with the cleanup of the site while the mill is in hibernation.

More ...
Week of 18 May 2020: More Energy Trend Problems
Week of 18 May 2020: More Energy Trend Problems

This month, I have been telling you, when it comes to energy trends, what you do not control you cannot predict. Thus, I have been admonishing you to know what you control, control it, and then miserly buy what other energy you may need. I thought I would give you a couple of examples, one new, one old, demonstrating energy matters you cannot predict.

More ...
Week of 11 May 2020: What is predictable in energy trends?
Week of 11 May 2020: What is predictable in energy trends?

In a world where every storage tank, every ocean-going tanker, every cavern or old mine that can be modified for oil storage is full to overflowing, what can we say about energy trends? Add to this the popular public anathema to fossil fuels, and one can find themselves in a tight box with no way virtually no way out. In these times, energy trends become what you can control. What you can control means what you own. It was pretty clear in my Mennonite example last week how they control their energy costs. You, mill manager, have to do the same thing.

More ...
Verdict against International Paper trimmed down by Texas Appellate Court
Verdict against International Paper trimmed down by Texas Appellate Court

The Southeast Texas Record is reporting that a June 2017 Jefferson County Jury verdict for $122 million in damages against International Paper, Inc. has been trimmed down to $14.8 million by the Texas 13th Court of Appeals. The verdict came following a breach of contract lawsuit filed by Signature Industrial Services of Beaumont.

More ...
International Paper Florida mill gets stricter environmental guidelines; critics say not strict enough
International Paper Florida mill gets stricter environmental guidelines; critics say not strict enough

A new slate of state-imposed operational rules will require International Paper to pay $190,000 in penalties, implement a $1 million environmental mitigation project and pay a $10,000 fine each time it fails certain water quality tests.

More ...
Nova Scotia releases terms of reference for Northern Pulp report
Nova Scotia releases terms of reference for Northern Pulp report

Northern Pulp has been given a clearer idea of what the province is looking for if the company is to reopen its mill in Pictou County.

More ...
Week of 4 May 2020: When energy is precious
Week of 4 May 2020: When energy is precious

In July of 2018, I received a letter from a gentleman who lives in a Mennonite community in southern Ohio. He had been reading my opinion column in a small southern Ohio town's newspaper for several years. He, and the leaders of the community, liked my viewpoints. They invited me to visit them. We corresponded a bit and I arranged to come see his family and the community in October of that year. I got off the bus (the method of travel he recommended) at another small southern Ohio town and he was there to meet me with a buggy. It took us a couple of hours to make the ten-mile trip from the bus stop to his farm. Our method of propulsion for this buggy journey was, I kid you not, "Rocket"--a small middle-aged black gelding, about thirteen hands high.

More ...
Energy Price Uncertainty
Energy Price Uncertainty

What does this mean for us in the pulp and paper industry?

More ...
DC Circuit Calls for More Pollution Control at Pulp Mills
DC Circuit Calls for More Pollution Control at Pulp Mills

In a 2-1 decision, the court ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to set limits on air pollutants that pulp mill combustion sources are known to emit.

More ...
Week of 27 April 2020: The Safety Gulf
Week of 27 April 2020: The Safety Gulf

Safety failures seem to fall into two categories.

More ...
Paper Excellence Canada Announces Temporary Curtailments
Paper Excellence Canada Announces Temporary Curtailments

Current global conditions and recent events impacting Paper Excellence require us to extend the curtailment of paper operations at Powell River and Crofton.

More ...
Week of 20 April 2020: Robots mean maintenance safety
Week of 20 April 2020: Robots mean maintenance safety

In the current pandemic, we are seeing grocery stores accelerate their adoption of robots to restock store shelves. Once done, this will never go back to the old ways. The world of maintenance in our pulp and paper mills (and downstream plants) can work the same way.

More ...
Northern Pulp to invest in modernizing mill and revitalizing Nova Scotia's forestry sector
Northern Pulp to invest in modernizing mill and revitalizing Nova Scotia's forestry sector

Northern Pulp's request includes an 18-24-month timeline, an expert independent panel for objective review, and specific environmental standards to be achieved.

More ...
Next step in possible Northern Pulp restart expected to come today
Next step in possible Northern Pulp restart expected to come today

The Environment Department is expected to publish Monday the new hurdles Northern Pulp must jump in order to be allowed to build an effluent treatment facility.

More ...
Week of 13 April 2020: Lurking Dangers
Week of 13 April 2020: Lurking Dangers

If there is one thing the current COVID-19 crisis should teach us, if taken as an allegorical experience, is that dangers affecting safety are not always out in the open. I've told this story many times before, but perhaps you have not heard it...

More ...
PFAS contamination found at Graphic Packaging facility in White Pigeon, Michigan
PFAS contamination found at Graphic Packaging facility in White Pigeon, Michigan

The former site of the White Pigeon Paper Company -- now owned and operated by Graphic Packaging International -- has been added to the state's list of PFAS contamination sites.

More ...
Appvion Announces FDA Certification
Appvion Announces FDA Certification

Appvion Operations, Inc., a leading manufacturer of specialty, high value-added coating solutions and coated paper products, announces that it is now certified compliant with FDA cGMP regulations for the manufacture of food packaging.

More ...
Week of 6 April 2020: How appropriate--it is safety month!
Week of 6 April 2020: How appropriate--it is safety month!

No, I am not going to give you another COVID-19 advisory. You have no doubt already read countless admonishments on that subject. You do need to take them seriously, of course. But at this point, for the literate and sighted part of the population, I say let Darwinism take its course--you have been warned. For the infirm, the weak, the young and the very old -be generous and help them out. What is appropriate, though, in this first week of Safety Month, is to warn you about distractions. I can't think of another time in my nearly seventy years of life that I have ever seen the entire world focused on one subject as it is now. And, admit, it is a distraction. Distractions take our attention off safe practices.

More ...
Metsa Board's plastic-free eco-barrier paperboard achieves Din Certco certificates
Metsa Board's plastic-free eco-barrier paperboard achieves Din Certco certificates

The plastic-free eco-barrier paperboard, MetsäBoard Prime FBB EB, has recently achieved DIN CERTCO certificates in both industrial and home compostability.

More ...
Week of 30 March 2020: Brave new world: How do you do maintenance with a 6 foot separation between employees?
Week of 30 March 2020: Brave new world: How do you do maintenance with a 6 foot separation between employees?

The first thing that popped into my mind was to dress all your maintenance people in pre-Civil War hoop skirted ball gowns. Although it will maintain the distance, I can think of many other reasons this won't work. For the future, this just emphasizes more predictive maintenance and solid maintenance monitoring. If you know the condition of your equipment and the failure curve it is on, you can plan on how to prepare it in a timely fashion.

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
Week of 23 March 2020: Maintenance Contractors need to step up their game
Week of 23 March 2020: Maintenance Contractors need to step up their game

OK, everything today is coronavirus. No matter which way you turn. Reminds me of a year's worth of Reader's Digest that I bought at a flea market years ago. The year was 1944 and nearly every story in every issue of that year was about the war. Well, one might say we are in a war now. If you are a maintenance contractor, likely you need to step up your game.

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
UPM signs a EUR 750 million revolving credit facility with a margin tied to long-term biodiversity and climate targets
UPM signs a EUR 750 million revolving credit facility with a margin tied to long-term biodiversity and climate targets

UPM is one of the first companies to link the pricing mechanism of a syndicated revolving credit facility (RCF) to both biodiversity and climate targets.

More ...
Week of 16 March 2020: Ford vs. Ferrari
Week of 16 March 2020: Ford vs. Ferrari

When you look at auto racing, at least 50% of the difference between winners and losers is maintenance. The recent movie, Ford vs. Ferrari, drives this point home. Watch the movie, watch the maintenance. You just may learn something and improve your operations.

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
Metsä Board joins forces with the new European Paper Packaging Alliance
Metsä Board joins forces with the new European Paper Packaging Alliance

Metsä Board, the leading European producer of premium fresh fibre paperboards and part of Metsä Group, is one of the founding members of the recently established European Paper Packaging Alliance (EPPA).

More ...
Week of 9 March 2020: What to maintain?
Week of 9 March 2020: What to maintain?

Seems like a simple question, but it is often missed. How do you determine what to maintain? It starts with what you intend to keep. How do you determine what to keep?

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
DuPont seeks mistrial after Ohio jury awards couple $50 million in 'forever chemical' lawsuit
DuPont seeks mistrial after Ohio jury awards couple $50 million in 'forever chemical' lawsuit

E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company has asked an Ohio federal court to declare a mistrial after a jury awarded $50 million to a testicular cancer survivor and his wife who claimed that the illness was linked to the company's contamination of their drinking water with a chemical the company used at one of its manufacturing plants despite knowing it was hazardous.

More ...
DuPont Owes $50 Million in PFAS Cancer Cases, Jury Finds
DuPont Owes $50 Million in PFAS Cancer Cases, Jury Finds

DuPont found liable for one illness caused by PFAS contamination, not liable for another.

More ...
Domtar Joins American Forest Foundation's Family Forest Carbon Program
Domtar Joins American Forest Foundation's Family Forest Carbon Program

As an extension of our sustainable forestry principles, Domtar has joined the American Forest Foundation (AFF) as a partner in its Family Forest Carbon Program (FFCP).

More ...
Week of 2 March 2020: Maintenance Again
Week of 2 March 2020: Maintenance Again

“Maintenance Again” is pronounced in many mills with a slight groan and downward inflection in the voice. In many CFO offices, the words “Maintenance Again” are recognized about as easily as any phrase in Klingon. By the way, you can translate “Maintenance Again” to Klingon—it is “leH jatlhqa” so don’t let the person holding the checkbook in your mill get by with feigning ignorance of the necessity of maintenance, no matter what language you use. I have been writing this column for over eighteen years and I have railed against the cheap maintenance managers for nearly fifty years. It is absolutely criminal to not do prescribed maintenance.

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
American Forest Foundation Welcomes International Paper as a Family Forest Carbon Program Partner
American Forest Foundation Welcomes International Paper as a Family Forest Carbon Program Partner

The American Forest Foundation (AFF) announced that International Paper, one of the world's leading producers of fiber-based packaging, pulp and paper, has joined AFF and its partner, The Nature Conservancy (TNC), in supporting the newly-created Family Forest Carbon Program (FFCP) to enhance carbon sequestration in family owned forest land across the U.S.

More ...
Domtar Joins American Forest Foundation's Family Forest Carbon Program
Domtar Joins American Forest Foundation's Family Forest Carbon Program

As an extension of our sustainable forestry principles, Domtar has joined the American Forest Foundation (AFF) as a partner in its Family Forest Carbon Program (FFCP). This new initiative, designed to enhance carbon sequestration in family-owned forestland across the United States, includes other business partners and charitable foundations, as well as the Nature Conservancy.

More ...
Maryland Department of the Environment says it'll sue Verso
Maryland Department of the Environment says it'll sue Verso

The State of Maryland, through the Maryland Department of the Environment, on Wednesday issued notice that it intends to bring a lawsuit in federal court against the owner of the Luke Paper Mill for seepages into the North Branch Potomac River that it claims threatens public health and the environment.

More ...
Week of 24 February 2020: Transportation entities must watch their Public Relations
Week of 24 February 2020: Transportation entities must watch their Public Relations

Whether truck, rail, air or jitney, transportation companies often have a public relations problem.

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
West Virginia lawmakers requests DEP, governor work with Maryland on Verso lawsuit
West Virginia lawmakers requests DEP, governor work with Maryland on Verso lawsuit

The request comes after the Maryland Department of the Environment announced Wednesday that it intends to sue Verso Corp. in federal court over alleged seepages from the site into the North Branch Potomac River.

More ...
UPM takes next step towards 65% CO2 emission reduction goal by 2030
UPM takes next step towards 65% CO2 emission reduction goal by 2030

UPM has signed a long-term Wind Power Purchase agreement with German wind park development company wpd.

More ...
International Paper Announces Vision 2030 Goals Focused on Building a Better Future for People, the Planet and the Company
International Paper Announces Vision 2030 Goals Focused on Building a Better Future for People, the Planet and the Company

International Paper announced its Vision 2030 goals, which demonstrate its commitment to building a better future for people, the planet and the company.

More ...
Metsä Board's emissions reduction targets meet the most ambitious goals of the Paris Agreement, approved by the Science Based Targets initiative
Metsä Board's emissions reduction targets meet the most ambitious goals of the Paris Agreement, approved by the Science Based Targets initiative

Metsä Board, the leading European producer of premium fresh fibre paperboards and part of Metsä Group, has had its emissions reduction targets approved by the Science Based Targets initiative as being consistent with the levels required to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement.

More ...
Week of 17 February 2020: Conveyors are transportation, too!
Week of 17 February 2020: Conveyors are transportation, too!

Throughout my career, I have seen lots of goods moved within many facilities' sites...

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
N.S. premier says talks ongoing with Northern Pulp mill over millions in outstanding loans
N.S. premier says talks ongoing with Northern Pulp mill over millions in outstanding loans

Talks are ongoing regarding the repayment of millions of dollars in outstanding loans owed to the province by the mothballed Northern Pulp mill, Nova Scotia's premier said Thursday.

More ...
DS Smith partners with Keep Scotland Beautiful in a bid to recycle millions of coffee cups
DS Smith partners with Keep Scotland Beautiful in a bid to recycle millions of coffee cups

DS Smith and Keep Scotland Beautiful have teamed up on the Cup Movement® - an initiative designed to offer coffee cup recycling in the Greater Glasgow area.

More ...
Environmental regulators enter new proposed settlement with Georgia-Pacific in south Arkansas
Environmental regulators enter new proposed settlement with Georgia-Pacific in south Arkansas

The proposed settlement requires the same fine and the same amount of money spent toward supplemental environmental projects, but the projects are no longer required to address hydrogen sulfide emissions.

More ...
Week of 10 February 2020: Cancer!
Week of 10 February 2020: Cancer!

Expecting a column on transportation here in February, you may have been slightly startled by this week's column title. This is the way cancer strikes, you are going along, minding your own business, planning what you'll do next and cancer rears its ugly head.

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
Mondi's best practice in sustainable forestry and water security confirmed by leading global non-profit organisation CDP
Mondi's best practice in sustainable forestry and water security confirmed by leading global non-profit organisation CDP

Mondi achieved an A- score for sustainable forestry and an A for water security by CDP, confirming that it is implementing current best practices.

More ...
American Forest Foundation Welcomes Domtar as a Family Forest Carbon Program Partner
American Forest Foundation Welcomes Domtar as a Family Forest Carbon Program Partner

The American Forest Foundation (AFF) announced that the Domtar Corporation has joined AFF and its partner, The Nature Conservancy (TNC), in supporting the newly-created Family Forest Carbon Program (FFCP) to enhance carbon sequestration in family owned forest land across the U.S.

More ...
Northern Pulp gets Boat Harbour extension to allow for hibernation
Northern Pulp gets Boat Harbour extension to allow for hibernation

Northern Pulp got the province's official blessing to continue using Boat Harbour for another three months.

More ...
Week of 3 February 2020: What's developed in transportation in the last year?
Week of 3 February 2020: What's developed in transportation in the last year?

We last visited transportation in February of 2019. What's new?

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
UPM commits to UN Business Ambition for 1.5°C to mitigate climate change
UPM commits to UN Business Ambition for 1.5°C to mitigate climate change

UPM is among the first global forest industry companies making this commitment.

More ...
EIA Welcomes China's New Law to Ban Illegal Timber
EIA Welcomes China's New Law to Ban Illegal Timber

In an encouraging move with the potential to create transformative market change, China recently amended its Forest Law to include a nationwide ban on buying, transporting, and/or processing illegally sourced timber, as well as an added focus on traceability.

More ...
Week of 27 January 2020: Dainty and Rugged Capital Projects
Week of 27 January 2020: Dainty and Rugged Capital Projects

I have seen few project engineers successfully transfer their skills between the two extremes of the paper industry. On the front end, we find incoming long wood, chippers, chip piles and so forth. At the other end of the business, we find printing and packaging lines with the daintiest of doodads, which must nevertheless work properly and flawlessly for long periods of time.

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
Metsä Group and Dasos acquire nature sites for Metsä Groups owner-members interested in FSC
Metsä Group and Dasos acquire nature sites for Metsä Groups owner-members interested in FSC

Metsä Group acquires nature sites that are used to compensate for the conservation areas required of forest owners by the FSC® forest certification.

More ...
Ducks Unlimited Canada and Louisiana-Pacific Building Solutions Sign Landmark Conservation Agreement to Support 6.2 Million Acres in Manitoba
Ducks Unlimited Canada and Louisiana-Pacific Building Solutions Sign Landmark Conservation Agreement to Support 6.2 Million Acres in Manitoba

Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) and Louisiana-Pacific Building Solutions (LP) announced the signing of a new, 10-year agreement that will positively impact more than 6.2 million acres of Manitoba's boreal forest, an area larger than the state of Vermont and about half the size of Nova Scotia.

More ...
Metsä Board named on CDP 'A List' for leading effort against climate change for the fourth consecutive year
Metsä Board named on CDP 'A List' for leading effort against climate change for the fourth consecutive year

Metsä Board has been included on the CDP Climate 'A List' since 2016.

More ...
Michigan sues 3M, DuPont over pollution
Michigan sues 3M, DuPont over pollution

Michigan on Tuesday sued 3M, DuPont and other companies for financial damages from contamination caused by potentially harmful "forever" chemicals that are turning up in drinking water across the industrial state.

More ...
Week of 20 January 2020: Leveraging Capital Negotiations
Week of 20 January 2020: Leveraging Capital Negotiations

If you have the corporate foresight to do so, leveraged buying can provide tremendous savings for the procurer and savings for the supplier as well.

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
Week of 13 January 2020: The Emotion in Capital Budgets
Week of 13 January 2020: The Emotion in Capital Budgets

When you are in the trenches looking up, it is often easy to see the perceived capriciousness of capital budgets. Hence, as the project manager overseeing the actual project implementation, it is sometimes easy to be lackadaisical about the funding. Do this at your own peril.

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
Sappi North America's Somerset Mill Certified to ISO 22000:2018 Food Safety Management System Standard
Sappi North America's Somerset Mill Certified to ISO 22000:2018 Food Safety Management System Standard

Company's Maine mill receives industry certification for food safety, ensuring products meet industry standards.

More ...
Week of 6 January 2020: Do low interest rates make for sloppy capital projects?
Week of 6 January 2020: Do low interest rates make for sloppy capital projects?

I have been around long enough to remember when retail interest rates were in the +20% range. At the time, corporations were not usually being charged at these levels, but they did reach into the mid-teens. The usual reaction at that point was not to do capital projects, but to wait. Even if corporations were self-funding, they often waited because they could make larger and safer returns with their money at interest in the bank. Today, interest rates are trivial, even for construction loans. Gone are the days when there was a sharp focus on construction interest costs.

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
Week of 30 December 2019: Power & Energy: Hubris and Finality
Week of 30 December 2019: Power & Energy: Hubris and Finality

As we wrap up December's Power & Energy Emphasis, I want to offer a caution or two.

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
Oregon agency levies fines against GP
Oregon agency levies fines against GP

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality levied fines this month totaling $27,106 against the Georgia-Pacific Pulp and Paper Mill in Toledo regarding three separate incidents -- two involving unexpected releases from the mill's wastewater treatment system and one involving a lab testing issue.

More ...
Nova Scotia rejects pulp mill's plea for more time, offers $50M for workers
Nova Scotia rejects pulp mill's plea for more time, offers $50M for workers

Owners of the Northern Pulp mill near Pictou, N.S., have said a government refusal of their request would lead to the facility's closure and the elimination of 300 jobs at the mill and an estimated 2,400 more in the forestry sector.

More ...
Week of 23 December 2019: Power & Energy: Fossil Fuels
Week of 23 December 2019: Power & Energy: Fossil Fuels

I have admonished readers a number of times over the years not to demolish their fossil fuel-powered assets. Although they may be out of favor at the moment, history indicates nothing is ever permanent in the energy sector.

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
In lawsuit, Maryland accuses shuttered Luke paper mill of polluting Potomac River with black liquor waste
In lawsuit, Maryland accuses shuttered Luke paper mill of polluting Potomac River with black liquor waste

The state is asking a judge to order Verso Co., owner of the Luke Mill, to put a stop to the pollution and, potentially, to pay civil penalties.

More ...
Week of 16 December 2019: Power & Energy: Hydroelectric
Week of 16 December 2019: Power & Energy: Hydroelectric

Hydroelectric power has been a significant component in pulp and paper mills for over 120 years. Early modern paper mills quickly adopted electric power produced by streams near their facilities. It was a natural--the pulp and paper mills needed water and when the ability to generate hydroelectric power came along they quickly built dams and harnessed this renewable power.

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
'Santa Claus' arrested at P&G toilet paper protest
'Santa Claus' arrested at P&G toilet paper protest

Environmental protesters worried about the plight of Canadian caribou and forests dressed up as Santa Claus and reindeer and delivered coal at Procter & Gamble's headquarters on Thursday.

More ...
Lenzing Group to reduce its CO2 footprint
Lenzing Group to reduce its CO2 footprint

The Lenzing Group will drastically reduce its CO2 footprint. A first milestone is set for 2030, when Lenzing plans to cut down on CO2 emissions per ton of product by 50% compared to a 2017 baseline.

More ...
Week of 9 December 2019: Solar is getting closer to making economic sense without subsidies
Week of 9 December 2019: Solar is getting closer to making economic sense without subsidies

Solar cells are continuing to improve in efficiency. My best source tells me that within a few years, we will likely be seeing solar arrays of multiple layers, each layer tuned to a particular wavelength emitted by the sun. Why is this important now?

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
AF&PA Applauds EPA's  Ambient Air Policy Modernization
AF&PA Applauds EPA's Ambient Air Policy Modernization

American Forest & Paper Association President and CEO Heidi Brock issued a statement regarding the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) announcement of their final ambient air policy under the Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) program.

More ...
Enviva receives approval to construct wood pellet facility in Alabama
Enviva receives approval to construct wood pellet facility in Alabama

This permit paves the way for 85 full-time jobs and an estimated 180 additional jobs in logging, transportation, and local services, as well as the creation of 300-400 jobs during construction of the plant.

More ...
Södra reduces CO₂ emissions
Södra reduces CO₂ emissions

According to a new report, Södra has a positive impact on global climate change, equivalent to 20% of Sweden's combined emissions of CO₂ equivalents.

More ...
Week of 2 December 2019: For the 46th Year in a row...energy is a big topic
Week of 2 December 2019: For the 46th Year in a row...energy is a big topic

I largely look at energy on a cost avoidance basis. Yes, we all want clean air (low emissions) but let's not go crazy following ideas that are not well proven scientifically (don't send me surveys on what scientists believe about energy consumption--people's opinions are not science). Nevertheless, when looking at places where energy is dear makes me realize we still have a long way to go to make our industry as efficient as possible.

More ...
Asian pulp giants pressed to paper over rivalry to save rainforest
Asian pulp giants pressed to paper over rivalry to save rainforest

Singapore's APRIL Group and its main rival Indonesia's Asia Pulp & Paper Group (APP), both with operations largely on Sumatra island, are working with local communities and using technologies like satellite imagery to protect forests on their concessions and prevent fires.

More ...
Water authorities in New York sue 3M, DuPont, Chemours over PFAS
Water authorities in New York sue 3M, DuPont, Chemours over PFAS

Two water districts in Long Island, New York have sued 3M Co, E.I. DuPont De Nemours and Co. and the Chemours Co, accusing the chemical makers of contaminating their drinking water supplies with toxic substances.

More ...
Graphic Packaging Holding Company Publishes Sustainability and Social Responsibility Update
Graphic Packaging Holding Company Publishes Sustainability and Social Responsibility Update

Graphic Packaging Holding Company announced the publication of its 2018 Sustainability and Social Responsibility Update Report.

More ...
Week of 25 November 2019: Creativity, the imperfect mortar in the Innovation and Strategy Structure
Week of 25 November 2019: Creativity, the imperfect mortar in the Innovation and Strategy Structure

If the problems with Innovation and Strategy are that we can never be certain as to how they will turn out, Creativity, the mortar that holds the other two together, suffers this fate in an even larger measure.

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
Roseburg Forest Products facility fined for air emissions
Roseburg Forest Products facility fined for air emissions

Roseburg Forest Products was fined $38,400 by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality for violating air quality standards at its plant in Dillard back in March.

More ...
Sappi's dissolving wood pulp (DWP) facilities complete the Higg sustainability assessment
Sappi's dissolving wood pulp (DWP) facilities complete the Higg sustainability assessment

Sappi Limited announced that its three dissolving wood pulp (DWP) production facilities namely Cloquet, Ngodwana and Saiccor Mills have completed the Higg Facility Environmental Module (Higg FEM) self-assessment via the Sustainable Apparel Coalition's (SAC) online portal.

More ...
Week of 18 November 2019: Strategy Pitfalls
Week of 18 November 2019: Strategy Pitfalls

There is the old children's story of the blind men describing an elephant. As the story goes each one of them walks around the elephant and feels different parts of it. As they do so, each has a different impression of what an elephant might be, based on the parts they touch. Some companies operate as the blind men did when it comes to setting a future course--their strategy. They are so lost in their myopic view of the world they miss the big picture.

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
Bulgaria takes a step toward certified forests through PEFC endorsement
Bulgaria takes a step toward certified forests through PEFC endorsement

Bulgaria has become the latest member to achieve PEFC endorsement of its national forest certification system. The PEFC General Assembly voted for the endorsement of the Bulgarian system in a postal ballot.

More ...
Week of 11 November 2019: Sources of Innovation
Week of 11 November 2019: Sources of Innovation

Many years ago, when I purchased a motorcycle, I wanted the equivalent of a "cruise control" for it. I shopped around and found this clever little mechanical device that fits on the right handlebar and gently locks the accelerator into position. With the flick of a handy little lever, you could turn it off. My cousin, a machinist, saw this and said, "I can copy that." I didn't let him. I think inventions should belong to the originator in perpetuity (I think we should still be paying royalties to the descendants of the inventor of tables and chairs--marvelous inventions in and of themselves). At least that is the way I used to think...

More ...
Week of 4 November 2019: Innovation
Week of 4 November 2019: Innovation

This is innovation and strategy month here at Nip Impressions. The sources of innovation (which can either lead or lag a strategic vision) are many. These days, it is popular to do innovation in an institutional environment with government or other deep pocket funding. That’s OK, however there is another way of which I am fond. That is when we do innovation out of necessity or when a bright entrepreneur has an “Aha!” moment. Here is one of those...

More ...
Maryland environmental officials investigate leak in Upper Potomac River near shuttered paper mill
Maryland environmental officials investigate leak in Upper Potomac River near shuttered paper mill

Maryland environmental officials said they are investigating a chemical leak from a recently shuttered paper mill on the Upper Potomac River that has discolored part of the river and could harm aquatic life.

More ...
Week of 28 October 2019: A whole different look at Quality, part 4
Week of 28 October 2019: A whole different look at Quality, part 4

In my travels this past spring and summer, I saw the matters I described in these four columns. In fact, I saw a lot more than I have had space to share. The urban settings were difficult enough, but what really struck me was one rural scene I saw and with which I have a history.

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
UPM invests in Germany to reduce costs and emissions while increasing flexibility to participate in electricity markets
UPM invests in Germany to reduce costs and emissions while increasing flexibility to participate in electricity markets

UPM will strengthen its cost competitiveness and reduce its CO2 emissions by 5 % by investing in a Combined-Heat-Power (CHP) plant at its Nordland paper mill in Dörpen, Germany.

More ...
Pixelle responds to emissions near Chillicothe, Ohio paper mill
Pixelle responds to emissions near Chillicothe, Ohio paper mill

Late last week, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency announced it had received four complaints about emissions from the mill over the last two weeks that it is in the process of investigating.

More ...
Domtar Commits to Pursuing Forest Stewardship Council® Certification of Wabigoon, Trout Lake Forests In 2020, 2021
Domtar Commits to Pursuing Forest Stewardship Council® Certification of Wabigoon, Trout Lake Forests In 2020, 2021

Domtar Corporation announced a pledge to pursue new Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC) certification standards for the Canadian government lands that the company manages in the Wabigoon forest (in 2020) and Trout Lake forest (in 2021).

More ...
Week of 21 October 2019: A whole different look at Quality, part 3
Week of 21 October 2019: A whole different look at Quality, part 3

The question for this week gets a bit tougher as we look at quality in a different way.

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
Lenzing invests Euro 40 million to improve the ecological footprint of its Lenzing site in Austria
Lenzing invests Euro 40 million to improve the ecological footprint of its Lenzing site in Austria

By 2030, the Lenzing Group aims to reduce its specific CO2 emissions per ton of manufactured pulp and fibers by 50%. By the year 2050, the Lenzing Group will no longer generate any net CO2 emissions.

More ...
Week of 14 October 2019: A whole different look at Quality, part 2
Week of 14 October 2019: A whole different look at Quality, part 2

We talked about lobbies last week. This week let's imagine a valued customer showing up at your facility unannounced. What would they see? What would be their reaction? From what I have seen in my travels this year, I'll give you some examples.

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
Smurfit Kappa and Vanhonsebrouck Work to Replace Single-use Plastic Packaging
Smurfit Kappa and Vanhonsebrouck Work to Replace Single-use Plastic Packaging

Smurfit Kappa has partnered with Belgian speciality brewer Kasteel Brouwerij Vanhonsebrouck to offer alternatives to its shrink film packaging.

More ...
Stora Enso introduces a renewable paperboard tube for cosmetics packaging to replace plastic
Stora Enso introduces a renewable paperboard tube for cosmetics packaging to replace plastic

Stora Enso is introducing a paperboard tube for cosmetics packaging as a new, climate-friendly alternative to plastic tubes. The paperboard tube is suitable for the primary packaging of skin cream products.

More ...
Week of 7 October 2019: A whole different look at quality, part 1
Week of 7 October 2019: A whole different look at quality, part 1

In quality month, we usually examine product quality. We are going to take the subject in a little different direction this year. This will be a four-week series, so you will want to make sure you don’t miss any of it if you really want to make a difference in quality in our industry.

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
Arauco announces carbon neutrality by 2020
Arauco announces carbon neutrality by 2020

Arauco announced its commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by 2020, meaning the company aims to capture more greenhouse gas emissions than its emissions at a global level, which in addition to being a significant contribution and real step forward to deal with the climate crisis, position Arauco as the world's first forestry company to achieve this important goal.

More ...
Week of 30 September 2019: What will management in the future look like?
Week of 30 September 2019: What will management in the future look like?

Management has changed radically in my lifetime. The future promises much of the same—an evolving landscape with many perils for those who fail to keep up with what society considers acceptable.

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
Metsä Fibre files environmental permit application concerning Kemi bioproduct mill in Finland
Metsä Fibre files environmental permit application concerning Kemi bioproduct mill in Finland

Metsä Fibre has filed the environmental permit application concerning the Kemi bioproduct mill with the Regional State Administrative Agency for Northern Finland.

More ...
Sun Paper permit get OK from officials
Sun Paper permit get OK from officials

Arkansas environmental officials have approved an air permit for a Chinese company's $1.8 billion paper mill that has been delayed by President Donald Trump's trade dispute with China.

More ...
Smurfit Kappa North America becomes EarthX Planet Partner
Smurfit Kappa North America becomes EarthX Planet Partner

Smurfit Kappa North America has become a Planet Partner sustaining sponsor of the Earthx2020 event in Dallas, Tex. that will bring together record numbers of concerned environmental citizens, educators, businesses, non-profit organizations, and thought leaders to celebrate global sustainability.

More ...
ZOZEN SZS gas-fired steam boilers work together with Austrian Lenzing Group to promote green development
ZOZEN SZS gas-fired steam boilers work together with Austrian Lenzing Group to promote green development

Both companies deepened sustainable development and achieved mutual benefit and win-win results.

More ...
Week of 23 September 2019: The Most Important Machine
Week of 23 September 2019: The Most Important Machine

I would be shocked if I have to tell any Nip Impressions reader what the most important machine is, but in keeping with the theme I am following this month, I will—the invoice printer.

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
Week of 16 September 2019: Bean Bags and other Nonsense
Week of 16 September 2019: Bean Bags and other Nonsense

I haven’t seen this situation in any actual pulp and paper mill offices yet, but I am sure it is coming. It is hard to resist fads and the more outlandish, the harder they are to oppose. I am speaking about these modern office layouts.

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
Week of 9 September 2019: The Second Most Important Task
Week of 9 September 2019: The Second Most Important Task

You already know what the most important job is (if you don’t, I will be reminding you before this month is out, for sure). Today, however, I want to talk about the Second Most Important Task. The Second Most Important Task (SMIT) is to create new products, or fresh modifications of your existing products.

More ...
Domtar Corporation releases Sustainability Report
Domtar Corporation releases Sustainability Report

15 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions at pulp and paper mills since 2010.

More ...
Metsä Board to apply for an environmental permit for the planned new recovery boiler at its Husum mill in Sweden
Metsä Board to apply for an environmental permit for the planned new recovery boiler at its Husum mill in Sweden

The first phase of the renewal consists of a new recovery boiler and a new turbine.

More ...
Mondi 'SizeMeMailer' wins ScanStar 2019 award for reducing environmental footprint for online shopping
Mondi 'SizeMeMailer' wins ScanStar 2019 award for reducing environmental footprint for online shopping

The e-shop SizeMeMailer sets out to challenge the market standards for slim line packaging in e-commerce.

More ...
Proof of Södra's social responsibility
Proof of Södra's social responsibility

Södra was top-ranked among companies that assume the greatest corporate social responsibility. This was shown in the world's largest employer branding survey.

More ...
Week of 2 September 2019: The Most Important Management Job
Week of 2 September 2019: The Most Important Management Job

Over the years, I have written many columns and books on management, particularly management in pulp and paper mills. However, if I can summarize this subject in one sentence, that sentence is: "Make your boss look good." There is no better way to advance your career or the business of your company than following this platitude. However, this does not come without some caveats and assumptions.

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
Week of 26 August 2019: Pulp Rats 2019--Fourth Week:  Fos commutes
Week of 26 August 2019: Pulp Rats 2019--Fourth Week: Fos commutes

One day, when no one was noticing, I jumped in the admin leader's BTI (you may remember from early episodes this is what the rats called cars, trucks, and so forth--Jim). She seemed to always take the most food and I thought she might leave some crumbs in the BTI that I could eat.

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
Battle Over Nova Scotia Pulp Mill's Future Reflects Wider Debate About The Environment
Battle Over Nova Scotia Pulp Mill's Future Reflects Wider Debate About The Environment

For filmmaker David Craig, a new documentary depicting the fraught emotions over the future of a rural Nova Scotia pulp mill is not solely a local story.

More ...
Contributing to the Circular Economy:  The Paper and Wood Products Industry
Contributing to the Circular Economy: The Paper and Wood Products Industry

The paper and wood products industry's efforts to promote sustainable forest management, do more with less in the manufacturing process and recover products for recycling form the foundation of our contributions to the circular economy.

More ...
Ottawa will not commit to federal assessment of Northern Pulp plan
Ottawa will not commit to federal assessment of Northern Pulp plan

The federal government is not committing to an environmental assessment of Northern Pulp's plans to pump treated effluent from their plant into the Northumberland Strait.

More ...
Week of 19 August 2019: Pulp Rats 2019--Third Week:  Fos in the Supply Room
Week of 19 August 2019: Pulp Rats 2019--Third Week: Fos in the Supply Room

In our mill, all the workers wear uniforms and have badges, that is a picture of themselves on a piece of plastic that has their name on it. I found one of these one day and tried to eat it. Not very good and it gave me a tremendous stomachache. Anyway, there is this large room where parts and supplies are kept. Most of the time, an employee is stationed at the door, and this employee retrieves materials for other employees that ask for them. This employee usually eats their lunch there, so the place is guarded all the time. This happens on all three shifts.

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
Norske Skog Saugbrugs granted CO2 compensation
Norske Skog Saugbrugs granted CO2 compensation

The changes are that Saugbrugs will not receive a reduction in CO2 compensation for the years 2018, 2019 and 2020.

More ...
Evergreen Packaging partners with the The Rainforest Alliance and FSC
Evergreen Packaging partners with the The Rainforest Alliance and FSC

For forest products companies in the region, this represents a missing and critical potential resource of FSC-certified fiber.

More ...
Union-funded study says closure of Northern Pulp mill would destroy Nova Scotia forestry industry
Union-funded study says closure of Northern Pulp mill would destroy Nova Scotia forestry industry

With the deadline looming for the province's largest pulp and paper mill to close an integral part of its operations, the union representing thousands of forestry sector workers is renewing its push for the government to let the mill build a controversial new wastewater treatment facility.

More ...
Week of 12 August 2019: Pulp Rats 2019 - Second Week
Week of 12 August 2019: Pulp Rats 2019 - Second Week

Fos the Rat continues...

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
Sonoco Releases Corporate Responsibility Report
Sonoco Releases Corporate Responsibility Report

Sonoco released its 2018-19 Corporate Responsibility Report highlighting the Company's ongoing efforts to achieve greater packaging sustainability and recycling and included an update on the ongoing efforts to improve environmental, governance and social measures.

More ...
Week of 5 August 2019: Pulp Rats for 2019--first week
Week of 5 August 2019: Pulp Rats for 2019--first week

From here on out, Fos the Rat will be writing for the month of August, just like he has for the last four years, while I take a break.

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
Week of 29 July 2019: Rebuttal to column of 8 July 19,
Week of 29 July 2019: Rebuttal to column of 8 July 19, "Thoughts on the Environmental Dialogue"

It is important to note that I put my comments at the beginning of this column, not the end, for I desire that you, dear reader, leave this column with the words of the rebutters, not mine, fresh in your mind. Now to the rebuttals...

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
Sustainable wood group sanctions Korean-Indonesian company
Sustainable wood group sanctions Korean-Indonesian company

The main global organization for certifying sustainable wood says one of its members destroyed tropical forests in easternmost Indonesia but it stopped short of expelling the company. The Bonn, Germany-based Forest Stewardship Council said it would impose "improvement" requirements on Korindo, a Korean-Indonesian conglomerate, that an environmental group found had cleared more than 30,000 hectares of tropical forests for palm oil plantations in Indonesia's Papua and Maluku regions.

More ...
Report: Are ethical investors funding the destruction of Brazilian forests?
Report: Are ethical investors funding the destruction of Brazilian forests?

World's largest producer of eucalyptus pulp accused of indirectly replacing forests with plantations, leading to 'tremendous' carbon emissions.

More ...
Week of 22 July 2019: Other Regulatory Impacts
Week of 22 July 2019: Other Regulatory Impacts

When we think of regulatory enforcers, we often think of professionally dressed folks showing up at the front entrance of our facility with briefcases full of forms. Or, perhaps we are thinking of Wall Street regulators, making sure there is no insider trading or those sorts of matters. Other regulators abound all around us. Many are on the payroll of our employer.

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
Verso working to replace sewer main at Escanaba, Mich. mill
Verso working to replace sewer main at Escanaba, Mich. mill

The Verso Escanaba Mill is working quickly to replace a sanitary sewer force main that ruptured last week, spilling water containing fecal matter into the Escanaba River.

More ...
Week of 15 July 2019: Remember this about Regulators
Week of 15 July 2019: Remember this about Regulators

A mistreated regulator can find ways to cost your company money beyond what is necessary to maintain a legal, moral and ethical business.

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
Week of 8 July 2019: Thoughts on the environmental dialogue
Week of 8 July 2019: Thoughts on the environmental dialogue

I was asked the other day where I thought our audience’s opinion was on the question of global warming, climate change, and so forth. My unscientific response is that I believe that about 90% of our audience remains somewhat skeptical, down from 100% just a few years ago. I remain skeptical for several reasons...

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
Ahlstrom-Munksjö Receives OK Compost Certification for its Coralpack Grease Resistant Wrapping Papers
Ahlstrom-Munksjö Receives OK Compost Certification for its Coralpack Grease Resistant Wrapping Papers

Ahlstrom-Munksjö has received the OK compost HOME and OK compost INDUSTRIAL certifications from TÜV® Austria for its entire range of Coralpack™ grease resistant wrapping papers.

More ...
Ilim Timber received FSC certification
Ilim Timber received FSC certification

Ilim Timber has successfully completed a regular audit of the supply chain and controlled wood FSC.

More ...
Putting America's forests to work on climate change
Putting America's forests to work on climate change

America's nearly 1.3 million square miles of forests absorb about 15 percent of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions annually, storing carbon in growing trees, ecosystems and wood products.

More ...
Chemours says DuPont lowballed environmental liabilities
Chemours says DuPont lowballed environmental liabilities

Chemours, for example, claims that it faces more than $200 million in costs to address environmental issues at a North Carolina manufacturing facility, 100 times DuPont's estimated $2 million maximum liability.

More ...
Sappi becomes an International Stakeholder member of PEFC
Sappi becomes an International Stakeholder member of PEFC

Sappi Limited (Sappi) is pleased to announce that we have become an International Stakeholder member of the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest CertificationTM (PEFCTM).

More ...
Paper mill workers concerned with long-term effects of Oregon cap and trade bill
Paper mill workers concerned with long-term effects of Oregon cap and trade bill

Workers at one of the Pacific Northwest's largest paper mills are worried Oregon's cap and trade bill will mean job loss and industry downsizing in a field that is already seeing cuts and companies moving overseas.

More ...
UPM Raflatac's Mills River facility first in North Carolina to be powered by 100% renewable energy
UPM Raflatac's Mills River facility first in North Carolina to be powered by 100% renewable energy

UPM Raflatac, a global leader in the manufacture of pressure sensitive label materials, is proud to announce that its facility in Mills River is the first manufacturing facility in North Carolina whose electrical supply is generated entirely by renewable sources through Charlotte-based Duke Energy's NC Renewable Energy Program.

More ...
Vermont sues DuPont, 3M, others over chemical pollutants
Vermont sues DuPont, 3M, others over chemical pollutants

Vermont announced that it's filed lawsuits against DuPont, 3M and other chemical companies for damages it says was caused to groundwater, drinking water and other natural resources by the contamination of a class of potentially toxic chemicals.

More ...
Week of 1 July 2019: The Environment and Regulations
Week of 1 July 2019: The Environment and Regulations

If we are going to spin the invoice printer at its optimum and retain as much profit as possible, we must find a way to get the environment and regulations game under control. We have to do it ourselves; no one is going to do it for us.

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
Forest Products Manufacturers Applaud  New EPA Permit Streamlining Rule
Forest Products Manufacturers Applaud New EPA Permit Streamlining Rule

Reducing the burdens of complying with these standards creates strong incentives for reducing emissions, while boosting the competitiveness of U.S. manufacturers, especially smaller mills.

More ...
Paper Cups: A Responsible Consumer Choice
Paper Cups: A Responsible Consumer Choice

The first thing that sets paper cups apart from other cups: They are made from sustainably managed, renewable materials whose cultivation benefits the environment.

More ...
McKinley seeks permits for addition
McKinley seeks permits for addition

McKinley Paper Co. has received preliminary approval from two state air-quality agencies to install new equipment to manufacture heavyweight liner and bag-grade paper, increasing production and spiking air pollution -- but not exceeding regulatory emissions limits, state officials say.

More ...
IP reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 21 percent as part of 2020 goals
IP reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 21 percent as part of 2020 goals

With two years left to hit its 2020 sustainability goals, International Paper has already exceed half of its target numbers.

More ...
Port Townsend Paper Corporation settles with EPA for violation of Clean Air Act
Port Townsend Paper Corporation settles with EPA for violation of Clean Air Act

The Port Townsend Paper Corporation has agreed to a settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that will cost more than $300,000 for a violation of the Clean Air Act.

More ...
The Paradigm Shift in the Cost-Benefit State:  Requiring More Good Than Harm
The Paradigm Shift in the Cost-Benefit State: Requiring More Good Than Harm

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) took an historic step to advance the "cost-benefit state," the paradigm in which "government regulation is increasingly assessed by asking whether the benefits of regulation justify the costs of regulation."

More ...
AF&PA: EPA Action Recognizes State of Washington's Protective Water Quality Standards
AF&PA: EPA Action Recognizes State of Washington's Protective Water Quality Standards

American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) President and CEO Donna Harman issued a statement regarding the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) proposal to approve almost all of the original water quality standards developed by the state of Washington. EPA announced the action on May 10.

More ...
International Paper continues commitment to forest stewardship through collaboration with the Arbor Day Foundation
International Paper continues commitment to forest stewardship through collaboration with the Arbor Day Foundation

Workers Memorial Day, observed by unions across the globe on April 28 of each year, is dedicated to remembering those who have suffered and died on the job and to renew the struggle for safe jobs. Worldwide, more than 380,000 workers die tragically at work each year, and another 2.4 million die from work-related illness.

More ...
Smurfit Kappa Takes a Step Forward to Further Drive down Emissions at Pitea Paper Mill
Smurfit Kappa Takes a Step Forward to Further Drive down Emissions at Pitea Paper Mill

Smurfit Kappa is investing in a series of upgrades to its flagship kraftliner mill in Piteå, Sweden.

More ...
Province of Nova Scotia asking more pointed questions of Northern Pulp
Province of Nova Scotia asking more pointed questions of Northern Pulp

Nova Scotia Environment Minister Margaret Miller and her department have outlined the information required from Northern Pulp before the company's proposed effluent treatment plant could be considered for approval.

More ...
	 Honeywell, International Paper commit to $16.2M cleanup of contaminated site in NC
Honeywell, International Paper commit to $16.2M cleanup of contaminated site in NC

The Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a settlement with Honeywell International Inc., and International Paper Co., for cleanup of contaminated soils and sediments at the LCP-Holtrachem plant in Riegelwood.

More ...
Ahlstrom-Munksjö One of the First Companies Within its Industry to be ISO 45001 Certified
Ahlstrom-Munksjö One of the First Companies Within its Industry to be ISO 45001 Certified

Ahlstrom-Munksjö believes that zero accidents is possible. The long-term goal is an accident-free workplace and in order to achieve this target, the company is certifying its plants with the ISO 45001-standard.

More ...
Smurfit Kappa and Plastic Soup Foundation come together to change the future of packaging
Smurfit Kappa and Plastic Soup Foundation come together to change the future of packaging

Smurfit Kappa has walked away with 14 awards at the European Flexographic Industry Innovation (EFIA) Awards, further consolidating its leadership in the packaging industry.

More ...
Cascades Extends its Transportation Electrification Program to Employees in Ontario
Cascades Extends its Transportation Electrification Program to Employees in Ontario

Cascades Inc. announced that it is extending its transportation electrification program to all its employees in Ontario.

More ...
Stora Enso signs global commitment to combat plastic pollution
Stora Enso signs global commitment to combat plastic pollution

Stora Enso has joined the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment to eliminate plastic waste and pollution at the source.

More ...
Nature Conservancy of Canada receives $1 million gift from J. D. Irving, Limited
Nature Conservancy of Canada receives $1 million gift from J. D. Irving, Limited

In celebration of National Wildlife Week, the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) is announcing it has received a significant and generous donation. J.D. Irving, Limited has donated $1 million to NCC's national Landmark Campaign.

More ...
Georgia-Pacific fined for Coos Bay, Oregon discharge
Georgia-Pacific fined for Coos Bay, Oregon discharge

Georgia-Pacific Wood Products of Coos Bay entered into a Clean Water Act settlement after being accused of five violations.

More ...
Settlement agreement puts end to fight over who pays for Fox River PCB cleanup in Wisconsin
Settlement agreement puts end to fight over who pays for Fox River PCB cleanup in Wisconsin

The toxic PCBs were used in the production of carbonless copy paper in the 1950s and 1960s and were spread through wastewater discharges from the manufacturing of recycled paper products.

More ...
Stora Enso signs global commitment to combat plastic pollution
Stora Enso signs global commitment to combat plastic pollution

Stora Enso has joined the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment to eliminate plastic waste and pollution at the source.

More ...
SCA sponsoring World Championships Biathlon
SCA sponsoring World Championships Biathlon

The World Championships Biathlon will be held in Östersund, Sweden, this week and SCA is one of the national sponsors of this major skiing event.

More ...
UPM begins the transplantation of threatened species in a unique biodiversity project
UPM begins the transplantation of threatened species in a unique biodiversity project

This spring, UPM will begin a transplantation project of rare and threatened wood-inhabiting fungi in co-operation with Natural Resources Institute Finland and the University of Helsinki.

More ...
SCA applies for new environmental permit for Tunadal Sawmill
SCA applies for new environmental permit for Tunadal Sawmill

SCA is applying for a new environmental permit for the Tunadal Sawmill. Instead of the currently permitted maximum of 600,000 cubic meters of solid-wood products per year, SCA wants to continue expanding the sawmill's capacity to a maximum of 900,000 cubic meters per year.

More ...
How America's 'tree-to-toilet pipeline' is destroying Canadian forests
How America's 'tree-to-toilet pipeline' is destroying Canadian forests

A new report by environmentalists suggests Americans are 'flushing forests down the toilet'.

More ...
AF&PA Congratulates Andrew Wheeler on his Senate Confirmation as EPA Administrator
AF&PA Congratulates Andrew Wheeler on his Senate Confirmation as EPA Administrator

American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) President and CEO Donna Harman issued a statement regarding U.S. Senate confirmation of Andrew Wheeler.

More ...
Smurfit Kappa Drives Down CO2 Emissions by Creating Innovative Steam System
Smurfit Kappa Drives Down CO2 Emissions by Creating Innovative Steam System

Smurfit Kappa Roermond Paper Mill's integrated steam system has been held up as a shining example of sustainability for reducing its CO2 footprint by a further 3% in 2018.

More ...
SCA reports climate impact Compensates for road freight and domestic air travel
SCA reports climate impact Compensates for road freight and domestic air travel

SCA is for the first time reporting the company's impact on the climate as part of its Annual Report, to be published on February 27.

More ...
Sofidel Improves its Environmental Performance in Global Carbon Disclosure Report
Sofidel Improves its Environmental Performance in Global Carbon Disclosure Report

Sofidel boosts its scores on the CDP 2018 report in the Climate Change and Forests Timber categories.

More ...
Metsä Board recognised as a world leader for supplier engagement on climate change by CDP
Metsä Board recognised as a world leader for supplier engagement on climate change by CDP

Metsä Board Corporation, a part of Metsä Group, has been recognised by CDP for its leadership in developing supplier engagement to tackle climate change and manage carbon emissions.

More ...
Report: Northern Pulp mill asks for one-year extension on alternative plan for controversial wastewater site
Report: Northern Pulp mill asks for one-year extension on alternative plan for controversial wastewater site

The operator of a pulp and paper mill at the centre of a continuing controversy in Pictou, N.S., has asked the provincial government to allow it an extra year of dumping the mill's wastewater next to the territory of a local First Nation.

More ...
Greif Recognized Again for Environmental Leadership
Greif Recognized Again for Environmental Leadership

Greif, Inc. announced that it was awarded an A- score for environmental leadership by the non-profit organization CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project).

More ...
DEC continues to investigate Finch Paper digester issue
DEC continues to investigate Finch Paper digester issue

An issue with Finch Paper's pulp digester is still under investigation by the state Department of Environmental Conservation after the digester broke down Sunday.

More ...
APRIL Group Honored for Commitment to UN SDGs at Sustainable Business Awards Indonesia
APRIL Group Honored for Commitment to UN SDGs at Sustainable Business Awards Indonesia

APRIL Group was announced as the winner of the Best UN Sustainable Development Goals Program Award at the Sustainable Business Awards (SBAs) Indonesia.

More ...
Glatfelter Enters Into Consent Decree to Resolve Fox River Environmental Liability
Glatfelter Enters Into Consent Decree to Resolve Fox River Environmental Liability

Glatfelter announced that it has entered into a consent decree with the United States Government, the State of Wisconsin, and Georgia-Pacific Consumer Products, under which Glatfelter expects to fully resolve its liability for the Lower Fox River and Green Bay environmental remediation and related Superfund litigation.

More ...
Supreme Court Orders New Review in Weyerhaeuser Frog Habitat Case
Supreme Court Orders New Review in Weyerhaeuser Frog Habitat Case

The U.S. Supreme Court told a lower court to take another look at the federal designation of privately owned land in Louisiana as critical habitat for the endangered dusky gopher frog.

More ...
UPM strengthens the foundations of the bioeconomy with a new biodiversity commitment
UPM strengthens the foundations of the bioeconomy with a new biodiversity commitment

UPM has published a new biodiversity commitment, which is one of the company's responsibility targets for 2030. The new commitment and programme will be presented at the Conference of the Parties (COP14) of the United Nations' Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

More ...
Week of 26 November 2018: Put a proper perspective on strategic decisions
Week of 26 November 2018: Put a proper perspective on strategic decisions

I used to say the winter price of heating oil depended on the commuting experience the heating oil traders had on their way into Manhattan from suburban Connecticut each morning. If they had a cold, miserable experience, they jacked up the price. Maybe that is not giving them enough credit, but I don't think I am far off. Believe it or not, I have sat in capital strategic planning sessions in our industry that display just about the same perspicacity...

More ...
Week of 19 November 2018: Strategic Politics
Week of 19 November 2018: Strategic Politics

I have been saying for some time that major capital projects often have a large political component to them. Throughout my career, this has been true to a certain extent, in the modern age with animation and graphical availability available to everyone, it is become even more the norm rather than the exception...

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
Week of 12 November 2018: Pulling the Plug
Week of 12 November 2018: Pulling the Plug

As hard as it is to get innovation right, a subject to which we alluded last week, pulling the plug on a bad project is even harder. If you read the management books, they will often quote someone like Winston Churchill, Vince Lombardi or Teddy Roosevelt, with an admonishment to never, ever, give up. Sometimes you need to give up. It is called throwing good money after bad...

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
Kimberly-Clark's Sustainability Programs Recognized for Leadership in Energy and Climate
Kimberly-Clark's Sustainability Programs Recognized for Leadership in Energy and Climate

Kimberly-Clark Corporation has been recognized with two prominent awards for its efforts to improve energy efficiency and reduce its carbon footprint.

More ...
Lawsuit alleges 3M and Georgia-Pacific caused Parchment PFAS emergency
Lawsuit alleges 3M and Georgia-Pacific caused Parchment PFAS emergency

A Detroit law firm filed a federal class action lawsuit alleging 3M and Georgia-Pacific are responsible for contaminating Parchment's municipal drinking water.

More ...
Week of 5 November 2018: Innovation and Strategy--Back to the Future
Week of 5 November 2018: Innovation and Strategy--Back to the Future

As you might have guessed, November is Innovation and Strategy month at Paperitalo Publications. I thought would we would start out talking about lost innovations. There are many clever innovations with industrial application from the past that have been lost to the present era...

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
Week of 29 October 2018: It wasn't Camelot
Week of 29 October 2018: It wasn't Camelot

When I think back over my five decades in industry, one stands out when the subject of quality comes up. It is the 1970s. The 1970s were the age of shabby. I don't care what kind of product it was, retail or industrial, I would suggest the 1970s were the low point of quality, at least in the United States. So, what changed?

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
Supreme Court to hear case on clean-up of mercury at northern Ontario mill site
Supreme Court to hear case on clean-up of mercury at northern Ontario mill site

The Supreme Court of Canada says it will hear a legal dispute over whether the Ontario government can force Weyerhaeuser Co. and Resolute Forest Products to clean up a contaminated site upstream of the Grassy Narrows First Nation.

More ...
Week of 22 October 2018: Using quality to manage your business
Week of 22 October 2018: Using quality to manage your business

There is an old phrase, "We don't have time to do it right, but we have time to do it over!" So true. When you produce off-spec goods you will break into production to remake the order so you don't lose the customer. The losses are incalculable. Examining why you make poor quality goods or deliver poor quality services is instructive and a good place to start to buff up the overall management of your organization. Why did you produce poor quality goods? There are only three or four key high-level metrics that need to be examined out the gate...

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
Week of 15 October 2018: Quality and Plastic Contamination
Week of 15 October 2018: Quality and Plastic Contamination

All of a sudden, plastic contamination is in the news. Restaurants in our area, for instance, have started posting signs concerning plastic straws with the claim that the world uses 500 million plastic straws per day. I find that number a bit incredulous, for it means that 1 in 16 of us, including newborn infants, use a plastic straw each day. There has also been a video on LinkedIn of a woman paddling up to a pile of plastic near the water's edge somewhere. It looks awful, but the video fails to comment on her being on a plastic surfboard, an item that used to be made of wood. I am, by the way, in favor of getting rid of as much plastic as we can (paperboard milk cartons and paper grocery sacks, anyone?). But what does all of this have to do with Quality Month at Paperitalo Publications. Just this...

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
Georgia-Pacific set to help find sources of Parchment, Michigan water contamination
Georgia-Pacific set to help find sources of Parchment, Michigan water contamination

Months after contaminants were found in its water supply, Georgia-Pacific is helping state officials to help identify the sources of the leaching chemicals in Parchment, state officials said.

More ...
Week of 8 October 2018: The future of quality
Week of 8 October 2018: The future of quality

If you have not heard of Industry 4.0, you will. In fact, later this month Paperitalo Publications is launching a new newsletter on the subject as it pertains to the pulp and paper industry. We are calling it Industree 4.0™. Industry 4.0 means more sensors, more data collection and more data analysis in real time. It will mean higher quality products made at lower costs, for upper and lower control limits will be able to be set even closer to the desired outcome for many attributes.

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
Week of 1 October 2018: Quality Hypocrisy
Week of 1 October 2018: Quality Hypocrisy

You will see it all the time, both corporately and individually. People, and people representing corporations, will demand very high quality from others but will tolerate themselves or their organizations delivering low quality goods and services. This is hypocrisy, yet it is not as bad as things can get. Those who accept low quality goods and services are nearly a lost cause when one tries to deliver high quality goods and services. They just don't get it.

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
Week of 24 September 2018: Management, Sex and Mayhem, Part 4
Week of 24 September 2018: Management, Sex and Mayhem, Part 4

Last week we talked about harassment and one-sided fantasizing. We did not call it one-sided fantasizing, but that is what it was. Our last topic in this series is going to be relationships that start at work. In this case, both parties are willing participants. I think modern communications systems have made these easier to do. Email, texting and so forth are far easier than putting "personal and confidential" notes in internal mail systems. Modern communications are also far easier to trace, too--email and texting leaves a trail that others can find (such as your spouse's lawyer)...

More ...
Week of 17 September 2018: Management, Sex and Mayhem, Part 3
Week of 17 September 2018: Management, Sex and Mayhem, Part 3

In my nearly fifty years in the business world, I've learned that both sexes do an amazing job of fantasizing what members of the opposite sex think of them or how they interact with them. These daydreams are often quite detailed and often R-rated. There is only one problem with them--they are false vignettes that have nothing to do with reality...

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
Week of 10 September 2018: Management, Sex and Mayhem, Part 2
Week of 10 September 2018: Management, Sex and Mayhem, Part 2

Harassment may or may not involve members of the opposite sex. It can be male on female, female on male or sex on sex. Your coworkers engaged in harassment can have many different motives, often hard to discern. It is sometimes hard to determine if one is being harassed or not...

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
Oregon slaps International Paper with a fine of $21,000 for oil spill into McKenzie River
Oregon slaps International Paper with a fine of $21,000 for oil spill into McKenzie River

Oregon regulators levied a $20,800 penalty Tuesday on International Paper over a March oil spill into the McKenzie River.

More ...
Week of 3 September 2018: Management, Sex and Mayhem, Part 1
Week of 3 September 2018: Management, Sex and Mayhem, Part 1

Several months ago, Helen Roush, our Executive Vice President, suggested we do a series on Male/Female/Harassment issues in the workplace. I agreed and further agreed we would do it in September, our editorial calendar month reserved for management issues. As a warning--these columns may be "R" rated in places--but since we attract an adult audience, this should not be a problem.

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
J.D. Irving, Crown reach deal to reduce 15 pollution charges against Saint John mill
J.D. Irving, Crown reach deal to reduce 15 pollution charges against Saint John mill

J.D. Irving Ltd. and the Crown have reached a resolution in a case that saw the company charged with 15 offences under the federal Fisheries Act related to alleged pollution from its pulp mill in west Saint John.

More ...
Week of 27 August 2018: Corruption Month 2018, Fourth Week
Week of 27 August 2018: Corruption Month 2018, Fourth Week

Every August, starting back in 2015, we have focused on corruption we have seen or heard about in the industry in the past year. This has become the most popular month of the year for original Nip Impressions columns. As usual, these stories will be told by Fos, a pulp rat. It is my privilege to put Fos' stories in print for you. We continue with Chapter 19...

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
APP response to Auriga's allegations of deforestation in East Kalimantan
APP response to Auriga's allegations of deforestation in East Kalimantan

Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) strongly rejects the unsubstantiated allegations suggested by Auriga in its report titled "APP and APRIL violate zero-deforestation policies with wood purchases from Djarum Group concessions in East Kalimantan". The report contains factual errors and presents incomplete information which must be corrected.

More ...
Smurfit Kappa's sustainability achievements recognized with Colombian award
Smurfit Kappa's sustainability achievements recognized with Colombian award

Smurfit Kappa has received the 'Best Environmental Approach' award in the Andesco Sustainability Awards in Colombia.

More ...
Week of 20 August 2018: Corruption Month 2018, Third Week
Week of 20 August 2018: Corruption Month 2018, Third Week

Every August, starting back in 2015, we have focused on corruption we have seen or heard about in the industry in the past year. This has become the most popular month of the year for original Nip Impressions columns. As usual, these stories will be told by Fos, a pulp rat. It is my privilege to put Fos' stories in print for you. We continue with Chapter 18...

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
Week of 13 August 2018: Corruption Month 2018, Second Week
Week of 13 August 2018: Corruption Month 2018, Second Week

Every August, starting back in 2015, we have focused on corruption we have seen or heard about in the industry in the past year. This has become the most popular month of the year for original Nip Impressions columns. As usual, these stories will be told by Fos, a pulp rat. It is my privilege to put Fos' stories in print for you. We continue with Chapter 17...

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
Week of 6 August 2018: Corruption Month 2018, First Week
Week of 6 August 2018: Corruption Month 2018, First Week

Every August, starting back in 2015, we have focused on corruption we have seen or heard about in the industry in the past year. This has become the most popular month of the year for original Nip Impressions columns. As usual, these stories will be told by Fos, a pulp rat. It is my privilege to put Fos' stories in print for you.

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
Week of 30 July 2018: The future of the Environmental Movement
Week of 30 July 2018: The future of the Environmental Movement

I have long railed against what seems to be poor science, or at least sloppy science, when it comes to predicting future temperatures. That does not mean I believe we should be lackadaisical about our care of the planet; it just means I want to be assured we are getting it right. I am still not convinced that we are. However, a couple of things are appearing on the horizon that may indicate we have lost interest in the environment or that we will have to change our thinking about it.

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
DS Smith sets ambitious goal to make all packaging reusable or recyclable by 2025
DS Smith sets ambitious goal to make all packaging reusable or recyclable by 2025

DS Smith has published its annual sustainability review and has launched nine new long-term performance targets.

More ...
Caribou plan could nix upgrades for Grande Prairie Weyerhaeuser mill
Caribou plan could nix upgrades for Grande Prairie Weyerhaeuser mill

Uncertainty looms over the Grande Prairie-area Weyerhaeuser wood mill as the company seeks assurance from the province about new caribou regulations.

More ...
UPM reduces water use at its paper mills
UPM reduces water use at its paper mills

The UPM Changshu paper mill in China and the UPM Nordland paper mill in Germany are at the forefront of developing new technologies which aim to reduce water use and cut emissions through an intensive research and development programme.

More ...
APP Sinar Mas combats forest fires to support Asian Games 2018
APP Sinar Mas combats forest fires to support Asian Games 2018

To help ensure that the upcoming Asian Games 2018 proceed without concerns about participants or spectators suffering from the effects of nearby forest fires, Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) is putting up intensive efforts to help fight forest and land fires in Pedamaran Timur in Ogan Komering Ilir regency, South Sumatra.

More ...
Asia Pulp & Paper's Foopak Bio Natura Compostable Food Packaging Solution Awarded
Asia Pulp & Paper's Foopak Bio Natura Compostable Food Packaging Solution Awarded "Sustainability Product of the Year"

This past week, the Business Intelligence Group named Asia Pulp & Paper's (APP) Foopak Bio Natura suite of food packaging products "Sustainability Product of the Year" in the 2018 Sustainability Awards program.

More ...
Resolute Recognized for Sustainability Leadership at Business Intelligence Group's 2018 Sustainability Awards
Resolute Recognized for Sustainability Leadership at Business Intelligence Group's 2018 Sustainability Awards

Resolute earned top marks for sustainability leadership at Business Intelligence Group's (BIG) 2018 Sustainability Awards.

More ...
Week of 23 July 2018: The What and Why of Regulations
Week of 23 July 2018: The What and Why of Regulations

Sometimes we blithely discuss terms without thinking about their genesis or reason for being. The word "regulations" and its derivatives falls within this category. My favorite definition of regulations is this: Regulations are rules, standards or principles administered and enforced by those without assets upon those who have assets. It seems nonsensical. Allow me to explain.

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
DEQ: No hazards after WestRock paper mill issue discolored river
DEQ: No hazards after WestRock paper mill issue discolored river

State regulators say they have found no environmental hazards after a problem at a paper mill's waste treatment plant caused discoloration in waterways outside of Roanoke.

More ...
EPA's acting head vows to carry out Trump's regulation cuts
EPA's acting head vows to carry out Trump's regulation cuts

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's acting chief said on Wednesday he would push to cut regulations on industry and speed up decisions on permits, echoing the policies of former head Scott Pruitt who stepped down last week.

More ...
Week of 16 July 2018: Regulations
Week of 16 July 2018: Regulations

Over the years, I have come to accept that some regulation is good, even desirable. After all, regulations are the government equivalent of standards combined with the teeth of enforcement. Regulations have gotten so good, in fact, that they have nearly put industrial unions out of business--besides pay, the unions served a great need in holding employers accountable for workplace safety. Let's explore some other avenues from this subject for a minute. Hold on--it may get a bit political, not my normal posture in these columns...

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
Thousands of Atlantic Canada residents from three provinces protest N.S. pulp mill's effluent plan
Thousands of Atlantic Canada residents from three provinces protest N.S. pulp mill's effluent plan

United by a widespread fear that the Northumberland Strait is imperilled by a pulp mill's developing plans to discharge liquid waste into its waters, residents of three provinces numbering in the thousands rallied Friday in Pictou, N.S.

More ...
UPM joins Together for Sustainability initiative to enhance sustainability in its supply chains
UPM joins Together for Sustainability initiative to enhance sustainability in its supply chains

UPM has joined Together for Sustainability (TfS), a chemical industry initiative that promotes and improves sustainability practises within its supply chains. By joining the initiative the member companies share a wide coverage of supplier data, such as audit reports and sustainability assessments performed by independent experts.

More ...
Week of 9 July 2018: Dealing with the public
Week of 9 July 2018: Dealing with the public

I had occasion last week to deal with a citizen in a community that was upset because the EPA was allowing the sewage discharge from their town to go into a large recreational lake. Actually, they were the gullible victims of an organization that was attempting to obtain favorable passage of an activity this organization wanted, and one of their tactics was "greenwashing." Let's break this down. There are many instructive lessons here...

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
Settlement reached for Fox River PCB cleanup in Wisconsin
Settlement reached for Fox River PCB cleanup in Wisconsin

A settlement has been reached regarding some of the payments associated with Fox River PCB cleanup.

More ...
Macedonia achieves PEFC endorsement
Macedonia achieves PEFC endorsement

Macedonia has achieved PEFC endorsement of its national forest certification system for the first time.

More ...
Week of 2 July 2018: Kicking off Environment and Regulations Month
Week of 2 July 2018: Kicking off Environment and Regulations Month

Talking about the environment, it's condition and its trajectory, is as fraught with danger as revealing one's political affiliation in the United States today. Everyone has an opinion about the state of today's environmental conditions, the trajectory for them in the future, and, furthermore, they know they are right, well grounded in science and the other side is biased and bought off by _______ (fill in the blank). Nevertheless, we will slog on amid the rising waters of discontent and disbelief.

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
International Paper And World Wildlife Fund Collaborate To Develop Science-Based Targets For Forests And Advance Forest Restoration In Brazil
International Paper And World Wildlife Fund Collaborate To Develop Science-Based Targets For Forests And Advance Forest Restoration In Brazil

How much forest land--and what quality--is needed to ensure forests can continue to provide people, plants and animals worldwide with clean air and water, food and the goods and services they need to thrive?

More ...
Ahlstrom-Munksjö renews the EcoVadis Gold rating for its Corporate Social Responsibility performance
Ahlstrom-Munksjö renews the EcoVadis Gold rating for its Corporate Social Responsibility performance

Ahlstrom-Munksjö, a global leader in fiber-based materials, has renewed its Gold rating level for the company's sustainability management and performance for the second consecutive year from EcoVadis.

More ...
Lecta Commits to Solar Energy at Its Condat Le Lardin-Saint-Lazare mill
Lecta Commits to Solar Energy at Its Condat Le Lardin-Saint-Lazare mill

In keeping with its commitment to the environment and increased energy efficiency, Lecta has announced an innovative renewable energy project to harness solar radiation for thermal power to be used in manufacturing processes at its Condat Le Lardin-Saint-Lazare mill.

More ...
Applegreen goes... green with 100% recyclable cups in all stores
Applegreen goes... green with 100% recyclable cups in all stores

One of Ireland's leading forecourt retailers, Applegreen has confirmed that, from July, the brand will replace all non-recyclable single-use cups in stores with a new 100% recyclable cup created by reCUP™

More ...
State fines Georgia-Pacific Wauna, Oregon Mill for air pollution
State fines Georgia-Pacific Wauna, Oregon Mill for air pollution

The state Department of Environmental Quality fined Georgia-Pacific, operator of the Wauna Mill in eastern Clatsop County, $12,000 for releasing more pollution from its kraft pulp mill than is allowed in the facility's air quality permit.

More ...
Sappi North America Releases 2017 Sustainability Report, Receives Gold Rating from EcoVadis
Sappi North America Releases 2017 Sustainability Report, Receives Gold Rating from EcoVadis

Sappi North America, a leading producer and supplier of diversified paper and packaging products, has released its 2017 Sustainability Report showcasing its industry leading sustainability performance.

More ...
$50K fine for Domtar's Espanola pulp and paper mill
$50K fine for Domtar's Espanola pulp and paper mill

The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change says Domtar Inc. has been fined for a violation under the Environmental Protection Act.

More ...
Nearly 2,000 forest owners have already tested Metsä Group and Tieto's virtual forest
Nearly 2,000 forest owners have already tested Metsä Group and Tieto's virtual forest

The virtual forest developed by Metsä Group, Tieto and CTRL Reality runs on all VR devices, and it can simulate different forest management methods and their impact on income and the landscape, for example.

More ...
EPA to Clean up Toxic Texas Site Damaged by Hurricane Harvey
EPA to Clean up Toxic Texas Site Damaged by Hurricane Harvey

Federal environmental regulators have reached a long-awaited agreement with the owners of a polluted toxic waste site in Texas that was damaged during Hurricane Harvey, releasing dangerous chemicals into a river.

More ...
Corner Brook Pulp and Paper to remove nearly century-old waste from canal
Corner Brook Pulp and Paper to remove nearly century-old waste from canal

Nearly a hundred years after it sunk to the bottom, Corner Brook Pulp and Paper is putting together a plan to remove waste from the Humber Canal.

More ...
Tests Show Gaseous Odor From Arkansas Georgia-Pacific Mill Hovers Near Limit
Tests Show Gaseous Odor From Arkansas Georgia-Pacific Mill Hovers Near Limit

Arkansas health officials say the level of hydrogen sulfide gas near a Georgia-Pacific paper mill in southeastern Arkansas is below levels that determine if the air is safe to breathe but frequently above levels where the odor can be detected.

More ...
Federal judge rules in favor of state of Wisconsin in Fox River cleanup case
Federal judge rules in favor of state of Wisconsin in Fox River cleanup case

A federal court has ruled in favor of the State of Wisconsin in a Fox River cleanup case.

More ...
Port Hawkesbury Paper hasn't met target for contribution to NSPI's fixed costs
Port Hawkesbury Paper hasn't met target for contribution to NSPI's fixed costs

Port Hawkesbury Paper hasn't met the contribution to Nova Scotia Power's fixed costs originally outlined in its special power rate.

More ...
Weyerhaeuser, others to pay $4 million to restore Everett, Washington habitat
Weyerhaeuser, others to pay $4 million to restore Everett, Washington habitat

The federal and state governments had filed a complaint against three companies in U.S. District Court.

More ...
Forest Products Manufacturers Applaud EPA Permit Streamlining
Forest Products Manufacturers Applaud EPA Permit Streamlining

American Forest & Paper Association President and CEO Donna Harman and American Wood Council President and CEO Robert Glowinski issued a statement regarding the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) issuance of new guidance to reclassify certain major sources as area sources under the Clean Air Act.

More ...
U.S. top court takes up property rights case involving endangered frog
U.S. top court takes up property rights case involving endangered frog

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed hear a bid by timber company Weyerhaeuser Co seeking to limit the federal government's power to designate private land as protected habitat for endangered species in a case involving a warty amphibian called the dusky gopher frog.

More ...
McDonald's to drop foam packaging by year's end
McDonald's to drop foam packaging by year's end

McDonald's will stop using plastic foam cups, which keep drinks icy cold but make environmentalists red hot, by the end of this year.

More ...
Nippon Paper Industries obtains highest rating in DBJ Environmental Rating from Development Bank of Japan
Nippon Paper Industries obtains highest rating in DBJ Environmental Rating from Development Bank of Japan

Nippon Paper Industries Co., Ltd. has obtained the highest rating in the DBJ Environmental Rating from the Development Bank of Japan Inc., and has received a loan based on the relevant program.

More ...
Update: Irving Paper mill employee treated in hospital after butane detected
Update: Irving Paper mill employee treated in hospital after butane detected

An Irving Paper employee was treated in hospital after butane gas was detected at the mill on Wednesday, the company has confirmed.

More ...
Irving Paper shuts down mill over butane gas detected in the air
Irving Paper shuts down mill over butane gas detected in the air

Butane gas was detected in the air at Saint John's Irving Paper mill on Wednesday night, leading to the evacuation and shut down of mill operations, and the neighboring Irving Wallboard facility.

More ...
Klabin is included in the WWF Environmental Index
Klabin is included in the WWF Environmental Index

Of the 93 companies from around the world selected for the index, six are from South America and only three are Brazilian

More ...
Georgia EPD considering changes to water quality regulation
Georgia EPD considering changes to water quality regulation

Environmentalists call the move a way to skirt what they believe will be a judge's ruling in their favor over what they say are high levels of pollution being dumped into the Altamaha River by Rayonier Advanced Materials.

More ...
Procter & Gamble making Puffs tissue products FSC-certified
Procter & Gamble making Puffs tissue products FSC-certified

Puffs strengthens its commitment to responsible forestry management by earning and labeling Forest Stewardship Council certification on all of its facial tissue paper products.

More ...
Oil spills into Corner Brook Stream from paper mill power plant
Oil spills into Corner Brook Stream from paper mill power plant

Corner Brook Pulp and Paper had to deploy its environmental response team Monday after approximately three litres of lubricating oil spilled from a power generating station into the Corner Brook Stream and Glynmill Pond.

More ...
In Wisconsin: Fox River cleanup, legal wrangling appear to be winding down
In Wisconsin: Fox River cleanup, legal wrangling appear to be winding down

Emergency crews continued to battle a fire at Tolko's Lakeview facility in Williams Lake Friday morning that erupted Thursday evening around 6:30 p.m.

More ...
Statement from Mark Mosher, Vice President, Irving Pulp & Paper Division
Statement from Mark Mosher, Vice President, Irving Pulp & Paper Division

"We work hard to ensure we meet and surpass all environmental regulations."

More ...
EPA Orders Cleanup at Texas Toxic Site Flooded by Harvey
EPA Orders Cleanup at Texas Toxic Site Flooded by Harvey

Trump administration orders two big corporations to pay for a $115 million cleanup at a Texas toxic waste site that may have spread dangerous levels of pollution during the flooding from Hurricane Harvey.

More ...
EU Commission VP Maros Šefcovic visits UPM Kaukas: focus on renewable energy and climate change mitigation
EU Commission VP Maros Šefcovic visits UPM Kaukas: focus on renewable energy and climate change mitigation

UPM welcomed European Commission Vice President Maroš Šefcovic, responsible for the Energy Union, to the UPM Kaukas Mill site in Lappeenranta Finland on Friday.

More ...
Greif says nothing was amiss in board members' stock sale
Greif says nothing was amiss in board members' stock sale

Greif Inc. denies that there was anything questionable about stock sales by two of its board members last year...

More ...
Irving Pulp and Paper to challenge constitutionality of pollution charges
Irving Pulp and Paper to challenge constitutionality of pollution charges

Irving Pulp and Paper has served notice it will launch a Charter challenge against a water pollution test used nationwide for decades.

More ...
Northern Pulp ordered to address emissions, fined $697.50
Northern Pulp ordered to address emissions, fined $697.50

Northern Pulp has been ordered to address air pollution levels at its Pictou County mill and has been issued a fine of $697.50, an amount the premier himself is uncertain can act as enough of a deterrent.

More ...
AF&PA Issues Statement on EPA's Clean Power Plan Announcement
AF&PA Issues Statement on EPA's Clean Power Plan Announcement

American Forest & Paper Association President and CEO Donna Harman issued a statement regarding the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) announcement that it plans to repeal the Clean Power Plan (CPP) and issue an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to seek input on a possible replacement.

More ...
Södra's port becomes fossil-fuel free
Södra's port becomes fossil-fuel free

Södra's port in Mönsterås will become completely free from fossil fuels in October.

More ...
AF&PA Statement on EPA Final Rule on National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Kraft Pulp Mills
AF&PA Statement on EPA Final Rule on National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Kraft Pulp Mills

American Forest & Paper Association President and CEO Donna Harman issued the following statement regarding the final rule on National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Kraft pulp mills, issued under the Environmental Protection Agency's Residual Risk and Technology Review process...

More ...
Luxury toilet paper is destroying reindeer habitats, claims Greenpeace
Luxury toilet paper is destroying reindeer habitats, claims Greenpeace

Luxury toilet paper is destroying endangered reindeer habitats, Greenpeace has claimed.

More ...
CO2 Solutions provides update on Saint-Félicien pulp mill and greenhouse carbon capture project
CO2 Solutions provides update on Saint-Félicien pulp mill and greenhouse carbon capture project

CO2 Solutions Inc. has provided an update on progress at the Corporation's first commercial project with Fibrek General Partnership, a subsidiary of Resolute Forest Products Inc., and Serres Toundra Inc.

More ...
OKI's Reforestation Effort Marks Tenth Consecutive Year of Environmental Contributions in Thailand
OKI's Reforestation Effort Marks Tenth Consecutive Year of Environmental Contributions in Thailand

OKI Data Corporation announced it participated in an effort to plant 6,000 saplings of nationally protected tree species on September 23 in clear-cut areas in Amphoe Muak Lek, Saraburi Province, in central Thailand, where OKI Data Corporation operates a manufacturing site.

More ...
Northern Pulp flunks air emission tests again
Northern Pulp flunks air emission tests again

Mill watchdog group says Nova Scotia government is failing to enforce emissions standards

More ...
Looming Chinese Import Ban Creates U.S. Recycling Bottleneck
Looming Chinese Import Ban Creates U.S. Recycling Bottleneck

It soon could become much harder for recycling centers across the U.S. to turn a profit, and some instead could divert reusable materials to landfills, thanks to a looming Chinese import ban on certain types of recycled materials.

More ...
Canada to host meeting of global forestry leaders to plan future of responsible forest development
Canada to host meeting of global forestry leaders to plan future of responsible forest development

General Assembly of Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) in Vancouver to discuss crucial topics for sustainable forest practices around the world

More ...
Florida water regulators approve big permits for pulp mills
Florida water regulators approve big permits for pulp mills

The state's water regulator for Central and North Florida renewed permits Tuesday for two of Florida's biggest industrial consumers of aquifer water.

More ...
APP, With Japanese Agencies, Plants Seeds to Conserve a Riau Forest
APP, With Japanese Agencies, Plants Seeds to Conserve a Riau Forest

Sinar Mas Group's Asia Pulp and Paper collaborated with the Japan Agency for Environmental Business, or JAEB, and the International Tropical Timber Organization to conserve the Kerumutan forest in Pelalawan, Riau Islands, by planting Meranti trees there on Monday.

More ...
DuPont pays $400 million to settle environmental lawsuits
DuPont pays $400 million to settle environmental lawsuits

DuPont has agreed to pay nearly $400 million to settle environmental lawsuits ahead of its planned merger with the Dow Chemical Co.

More ...
Kimberly-Clark joins forces with World Wildlife Fund
Kimberly-Clark joins forces with World Wildlife Fund

Kimberly-Clark announced a unique three-year agreement and collaboration with World Wildlife Fund (WWF) designed to raise awareness of the importance of choosing products that use fiber from responsibly managed forests.

More ...
Environment minister hopeful Domtar will comply with mercury testing order in northwestern Ontario
Environment minister hopeful Domtar will comply with mercury testing order in northwestern Ontario

Ontario's Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change (MOECC) hopes to get to the bottom of ongoing mercury contamination of the Wabigoon River by ordering a pulp and paper company to run tests to determine if its Dryden mill is the source of the leak.

More ...
Environmental issues stifle Tranlin Virginia project
Environmental issues stifle Tranlin Virginia project

The future of a $2 billion proposed paper mill in Chesterfield may hinge on the success of its Chinese parent company's efforts to develop new technology in China.

More ...
Kimberly-Clark mill in Beech Island, S.C. receives global recognition for conserving hundreds of millions of gallons of water
Kimberly-Clark mill in Beech Island, S.C. receives global recognition for conserving hundreds of millions of gallons of water

A Beech Island business is doing its part to conserve water. The Kimberly-Clark mill has recently received global recognition for its work to conserve water.

More ...
RAPP Launches 2017 Fire-Free Village Program Ahead of Dry Season
RAPP Launches 2017 Fire-Free Village Program Ahead of Dry Season

Riau Andalan Pulp and Paper, or RAPP, the operations unit of global pulp and paper industry leader Asia Pacific Resources International, launched its 2017 Fire-Free Village Program on Tuesday to work with fire-prone villages during the upcoming dry season.

More ...
UPM and FSC announce a global strategic partnership
UPM and FSC announce a global strategic partnership

UPM's Zero Solid Waste to Landfill initiative, launched in 2016, is one of the ways in which UPM contributes to the United Nations sustainable development goals for the year 2030.

More ...
Sappi North America Releases 2016 Sustainability Report
Sappi North America Releases 2016 Sustainability Report

Sappi North America, a leading producer and supplier of diversified paper and packaging products, has announced the release of its 2016 Sustainability Report. The report showcases Sappi's industry leading sustainability performance.

More ...
Port Townsend Paper mill fined $30,000; problems corrected, say Ecology, mill reps
Port Townsend Paper mill fined $30,000; problems corrected, say Ecology, mill reps

The Port Townsend Paper Co. mill has been fined $30,000 by the state Department of Ecology for two incidents in 2016 that led to emissions from the plant bypassing its control systems.

More ...
UPM's Zero Solid Waste to Landfill initiative wins the Midwest Regional Sustainability Award in the US
UPM's Zero Solid Waste to Landfill initiative wins the Midwest Regional Sustainability Award in the US

UPM's Zero Solid Waste to Landfill initiative, launched in 2016, is one of the ways in which UPM contributes to the United Nations sustainable development goals for the year 2030.

More ...
Rare endangered amphibian spotted at Klabin's conservation unit
Rare endangered amphibian spotted at Klabin's conservation unit

Klabin, Brazil's largest paper producer and exporter, has registered for the first time at its State Natural Heritage Private Reserve (RPPN) called the Serra da Farofa Complex, the environmental conservation and preservation unit maintained by the company in the state of Santa Catarina, the beautiful and delicate glass frog, a rare and endangered amphibian.

More ...
Södra promises fossil-free transportation by 2030
Södra promises fossil-free transportation by 2030

Södra says it aims to be fossil-free by 2030. This target was set in 2016 when 15 sustainability targets were adopted. Södra is now strengthening that promise by accepting the challenge from Fossil Free Sweden to achieve fossil-free transportation by 2030.

More ...
Federal judge asked to approve updated deal for PCB cleanup costs
Federal judge asked to approve updated deal for PCB cleanup costs

The federal and state governments asked a federal judge to approve an agreement for NCR to pay more than $200 million to pay for the remaining PCB cleanup in the Fox River.

More ...
Judge rules for Rayonier Advanced Materials
Judge rules for Rayonier Advanced Materials

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.

More ...
Canfor gets $13 million for green project
Canfor gets $13 million for green project

Canfor Pulp Products Inc. has been awarded $13 million to continue its funding one of its environmentally-friendly green initiatives.

More ...
The WestRock Foundation Supports Projects of The Nature Conservancy
The WestRock Foundation Supports Projects of The Nature Conservancy

Paper and packaging company partners to preserve forestlands and freshwater in Virginia and Tennessee

More ...
2015 haze: NEA still investigating Asia Pulp and Paper suppliers
2015 haze: NEA still investigating Asia Pulp and Paper suppliers

The National Environment Agency (NEA) is still investigating four Indonesian suppliers of Asia Pulp and Paper (APP), which was allegedly linked to the forest fires that caused severe haze in Singapore in 2015.

More ...
Smurfit Kappa announces 90% chain of custody certification for packaging
Smurfit Kappa announces 90% chain of custody certification for packaging

Smurfit Kappa announced that it has achieved 90% chain of custody certification by FSC, PEFC or SFI for the packaging it sells to customers.

More ...
Quebec government and Cascades invest $11.3 million in two energy efficiency projects
Quebec government and Cascades invest $11.3 million in two energy efficiency projects

With two major projects at its Cabano plant supported by the Quebec government, Cascades will significantly decrease its heavy-fuel oil consumption.

More ...
NCR agrees to complete Fox River cleanup
NCR agrees to complete Fox River cleanup

A papermaker has agreed to shoulder the financial burden for completing cleanup work on the Fox River in a settlement, federal environmental officials said Tuesday.

More ...
Procter & Gamble's Environmental New Year's Resolution - Send Zero Manufacturing Waste to Landfill From All Production Sites by 2020
Procter & Gamble's Environmental New Year's Resolution - Send Zero Manufacturing Waste to Landfill From All Production Sites by 2020

P&G announced on Wednesday additional investments in recycling and beneficial reuse that will eliminate all manufacturing waste from its global network of more than 100 production sites by 2020.

More ...
 AF&PA Statement on Proposed National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Kraft Pulp Mills
AF&PA Statement on Proposed National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Kraft Pulp Mills

"By signing the proposed rule, the EPA has indicated that the 2001 maximum achievable control technology (MACT) rule protects public health: That's a positive testament to our industry's investments and commitment to air quality and sustainability..."

More ...
Alberta orders cleanup at former treatment plant in Edmonton
Alberta orders cleanup at former treatment plant in Edmonton

The Alberta government is making Domtar and other companies clean up the site of a former wood treatment facility in northeast Edmonton that could become a residential development.

More ...
J.D. Irving plans to modernize effluent treatment at Lake Utopia mill
J.D. Irving plans to modernize effluent treatment at Lake Utopia mill

J.D. Irving Ltd. has applied for approval to install a new effluent treatment system at its pulp mill at Lake Utopia but it's not clear what difference it will make to the Bay of Fundy estuary it flows into.

More ...
Greenpeace, WWF cut ties with Indonesia pulp and paper company
Greenpeace, WWF cut ties with Indonesia pulp and paper company

Greenpeace and WWF have suspended their relationship with one of Indonesia's leading pulp and paper companies, saying it didn't live up to promises to stop clearing virgin forests and peatlands.

More ...
Evacuation at Georgia-Pacific mill
Evacuation at Georgia-Pacific mill

A loss of power at Georgia-Pacific in Camas led to an "odor incident," at the paper mill on Monday.

More ...
UPM biodiversity programme receives an honourable mention from FIBS
UPM biodiversity programme receives an honourable mention from FIBS

The UPM biodiversity programme received an honourable mention in the 2016 corporate biodiversity awards by Finland's leading corporate responsibility network FIBS. The six finalists presented their proposals to a judging panel and audience in a pitching event.

More ...
Greater consideration for forest water
Greater consideration for forest water

Södra has become the first company in Sweden to sign Green Forest Management Plans that also integrate environmental considerations for watercourses. This is the latest step in Södra's nature conservation programme.

More ...
UPM Biofuels joins Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials
UPM Biofuels joins Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials

UPM has become member of RSB, the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials. RSB is a global standard and certification scheme for sustainable production of biomaterials and biofuels. It is also an independent multi-stakeholder coalition, which works to support the sustainability of biomaterials.

More ...
UPM receives recognition for its efforts of deforestation-free supply chains
UPM receives recognition for its efforts of deforestation-free supply chains

UPM is one of the eight companies that have been recognized by the CDP Forest Program with a global leadership position in the 2016 Forest A List for timber and timber based products.

More ...
Metsä Board achieves Leadership status in CDP 2016 Forest programme
Metsä Board achieves Leadership status in CDP 2016 Forest programme

Metsä Board, part of Metsä Group, has achieved Leadership status in the materials sector of CDP's 2016 Forest Programme for the second year in a row.

More ...
Irving Pulp and Paper charged with dumping into St. John River
Irving Pulp and Paper charged with dumping into St. John River

Fines could total millions if company is found guilty of dumping harmful substance at Saint John mill

More ...
EPA to conduct hearing on Glatfelter boiler changes
EPA to conduct hearing on Glatfelter boiler changes

The Ohio EPA will come to Chillicothe, Ohio next week to conduct a public hearing on changes at Glatfelter.

More ...
Södra closes the ecosystem by returning nutrients to the forest
Södra closes the ecosystem by returning nutrients to the forest

Södra has developed a bio-ash that comprises nutrients from forest raw materials and can be produced at the company's own mills. The material will be used to return nutrients to the forest in order to close the ecosystem and ensure long-term production capacity.

More ...
Proposed Paper Bag Fee to Cost Consumers Millions
Proposed Paper Bag Fee to Cost Consumers Millions

The plastic bag ban outlined today by Boston City Councilor Matt O'Malley contains a fee on paper bags that will cost several millions of dollars to Boston consumers, further strapping working families already struggling to get by in one of America's most expensive cities.

More ...
No violations in wake of Pratt odor complaints
No violations in wake of Pratt odor complaints

Indiana state environmental officials announced Thursday they found no air quality violations while recently investigating odor complaints at the local Pratt Industries facility.

More ...
WestRock settles with EPA, agrees to payout to resolve hazardous waste allegations
WestRock settles with EPA, agrees to payout to resolve hazardous waste allegations

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a settlement Nov. 3 with WestRock CP LLC. The company will pay $1.6 million in cash, plus stock shares valued at $3 million to resolve allegations related to hazardous waste near Prescott, Arizona.

More ...
Cascades and the David Suzuki Foundation are partnering to raise public awareness about greener everyday practices
Cascades and the David Suzuki Foundation are partnering to raise public awareness about greener everyday practices

Cascades has announced a new partnership with the David Suzuki Foundation, a respected, non-government environmental organization dedicated to protecting the environment.

More ...
Greif Recognized for Excellence in Environmental Leadership
Greif Recognized for Excellence in Environmental Leadership

Greif, Inc. has announced that it was awarded an A- for environmental leadership, management and best practices by the independent non-profit organization CDP.

More ...
Indiana officials sniffing out source of odor complaints around Pratt mill
Indiana officials sniffing out source of odor complaints around Pratt mill

An ongoing foul odor in the area of the new Pratt Industries recycled paper mill has reportedly been attracting the objections of nearby residents.

More ...
Paper sludge that polluted sea cleans up soil in Fukushima
Paper sludge that polluted sea cleans up soil in Fukushima

Charcoal from paper mill sludge that once polluted the ocean here southwest of Tokyo could be used to restore contaminated land near the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.

More ...
UPM receives acknowledgement for its climate actions
UPM receives acknowledgement for its climate actions

UPM has been included in the CDP Climate A List. UPM is featured in the CDP's climate change program for the eight years in a row for its climate actions and transparent climate reporting.

More ...
Judge rules against Rayonier Advanced Materials
Judge rules against Rayonier Advanced Materials

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."

More ...
Tranlin faces battle with permits, pollution credits
Tranlin faces battle with permits, pollution credits

Last week, Tranlin Inc. announced that it was moving forward with its $2 billion paper mill in eastern Chesterfield. But one of the permits that Tranlin, a subsidiary of China-based Shandong Tranlin Paper Co., will need to secure involves a complicated and somewhat untested system of trading pollution credits for nutrient contamination allowed into the Chesapeake Bay and surrounding waters.

More ...
Week of 26 Sep 2016: There are only two requirements for a successful career*
Week of 26 Sep 2016: There are only two requirements for a successful career*

*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...

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
Week of 19 Sep 2016: Make them sign for it
Week of 19 Sep 2016: Make them sign for it

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...

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
Week of 12 Sep 2016: Are you management material?
Week of 12 Sep 2016: Are you management material?

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...

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
Week of 5 Sep 2016: Hard or soft?
Week of 5 Sep 2016: Hard or soft?

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?

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
Week of 29 Aug 2016: Corruption Month 2016, fifth week
Week of 29 Aug 2016: Corruption Month 2016, fifth week

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...

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
Louisiana Flood and Paperitalo Friends
Louisiana Flood and Paperitalo Friends

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.

More ...
Week of 22 Aug 2016: Corruption Month 2016, fourth week
Week of 22 Aug 2016: Corruption Month 2016, fourth week

"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.

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
Week of 15 Aug 2016: Corruption Month 2016, third week
Week of 15 Aug 2016: Corruption Month 2016, third week

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...

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
Week of 8 Aug 2016: Corruption Month 2016, second week
Week of 8 Aug 2016: Corruption Month 2016, second week

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

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
Week of 1 Aug 2016: It's corruption month!
Week of 1 Aug 2016: It's corruption month!

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...

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
Week of 25 July 2016: Impact
Week of 25 July 2016: Impact

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...

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
Week of 18 July 2016: Just one more
Week of 18 July 2016: Just one more

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...

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
Week of 11 July 2016: The source of regulations
Week of 11 July 2016: The source of regulations

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...

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
Week of 4 July 2016: Saving us from ourselves
Week of 4 July 2016: Saving us from ourselves

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....

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

More ...
Week of 8 September 14: A disorder affecting most daily
Week of 8 September 14: A disorder affecting most daily

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).

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

(Editor's Note: Our platform provider is currently having a problem accommodating iTunes files on Firefox browsers for those using PCs. We apologize for any inconvenience.)

More ...
Week of 1 September 14: Getting Started
Week of 1 September 14: Getting Started

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

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes MP3

(Editor's Note: Our platform provider is currently having a problem accommodating iTunes files on Firefox browsers for those using PCs. We apologize for any inconvenience.)

More ...
Week of 25 Aug 14: New Management Tool
Week of 25 Aug 14: New Management Tool

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...

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes MP3

(Editor's Note: Our platform provider is currently having a problem accommodating iTunes files on Firefox browsers for those using PCs. We apologize for any inconvenience.)

More ...
Week of 18 Aug 14: Maturity
Week of 18 Aug 14: Maturity

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...

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes MP3

(Editor's Note: Our platform provider is currently having a problem accommodating iTunes files on Firefox browsers for those using PCs. We apologize for any inconvenience.)

More ...
Week of 11 Aug 14: Harry's
Week of 11 Aug 14: Harry's

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...

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes MP3

(Editor's Note: Our platform provider is currently having a problem accommodating iTunes files on Firefox browsers for those using PCs. We apologize for any inconvenience.)

More ...
Week of 4 Aug 14: More on Government Influence
Week of 4 Aug 14: More on Government Influence

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...

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes            MP3   

(Editor's Note: Our platform provider is currently having a problem accommodating iTunes files on Firefox browsers for those using PCs. We apologize for any inconvenience.)

More ...
Week of 29 Jul 14: The folly of subsidies in a for-profit world
Week of 29 Jul 14: The folly of subsidies in a for-profit world

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...

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes            MP3   

(Editor's Note: Our platform provider is currently having a problem accommodating iTunes files on Firefox browsers for those using PCs. We apologize for any inconvenience.)

More ...
Week of 21 Jul 14: A competitive advantage for suppliers
Week of 21 Jul 14: A competitive advantage for suppliers

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...

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes            MP3   

(Editor's Note: Our platform provider is currently having a problem accommodating iTunes files on Firefox browsers for those using PCs. We apologize for any inconvenience.)

More ...
Week of 14 Jul 14: People vs. Science and Engineering
Week of 14 Jul 14: People vs. Science and Engineering

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. 

Listen to this column 

More ...
Week of 7 Jul 14: Lying to yourself
Week of 7 Jul 14: Lying to yourself

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

Listen to this column 

More ...
Week of 30 Jun 14: That can't be
Week of 30 Jun 14: That can't be

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.

Listen to this column 

More ...
Week of 23 Jun 14: Attitude
Week of 23 Jun 14: Attitude

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

Listen to this column 

More ...
Week of 16 Jun 14: The future of transportation
Week of 16 Jun 14: The future of transportation

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

Listen to this column 

More ...
Week of 9 Jun 14: Lesson learned again
Week of 9 Jun 14: Lesson learned again

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...

Listen to this column 

More ...
Week of 2 Jun 14: Still, no one prepares...
Week of 2 Jun 14: Still, no one prepares...

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...

Listen to this column 

More ...
Week of 26 May 14: What about ink?
Week of 26 May 14: What about ink?

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...

Listen to this column 

More ...
Week of 19 May 14: A real advantage for paper
Week of 19 May 14: A real advantage for paper

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...

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes            MP3             

More ...
Week of 12 May 14: Energy is always the question; the problem is discerning the answer
Week of 12 May 14: Energy is always the question; the problem is discerning the answer

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...

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes            MP3             

More ...
Week of 5 May 14: I don’t think like you do
Week of 5 May 14: I don’t think like you do

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...

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes            MP3             

More ...
Week of 28 April 14: I guess we’ll just leave the machine down until morning...
Week of 28 April 14: I guess we’ll just leave the machine down until morning...

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?

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes            MP3             

More ...
Week of 21 April 14: The Most Valuable Attribute
Week of 21 April 14: The Most Valuable Attribute

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...

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes            MP3             

More ...
Week of 14 April 14: LGMI Vertical Concept has people up in the air
Week of 14 April 14: LGMI Vertical Concept has people up in the air

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...

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes            MP3             

More ...
Week of 7 April 14: The Lessons of Growing Older
Week of 7 April 14: The Lessons of Growing Older

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?  

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes            MP3             

More ...
Week of 31 March 14: Being Competitive in Today's World
Week of 31 March 14: Being Competitive in Today's World

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.

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes            MP3             

More ...
Week of 24 March 14: The Alpha and Omega
Week of 24 March 14: The Alpha and Omega

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.

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes            MP3             

More ...
Week of 17 March 14: App frugality
Week of 17 March 14: App frugality

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.

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes            MP3             

More ...
Week of 10 March 14: Are you where you are?
Week of 10 March 14: Are you where you are?

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.

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes            MP3             

More ...
Week of 3 March 14: Outernet
Week of 3 March 14: Outernet

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

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes            MP3             

More ...
Week of 24 February 14: Barcodes are obsolete
Week of 24 February 14: Barcodes are obsolete

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?  

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes            MP3             

More ...
Week of 17 February 14: More on resumes
Week of 17 February 14: More on resumes

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...

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes            MP3             

More ...
Week of 10 February 14: A collision of events, once again
Week of 10 February 14: A collision of events, once again

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?

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes            MP3             

More ...
Week of 3 February 14: Country Risk
Week of 3 February 14: Country Risk

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

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes            MP3             

More ...
Week of 27 January 14: Energy, Environment and Human History
Week of 27 January 14: Energy, Environment and Human History

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...

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes            MP3             

More ...
Thoughts from a vacation much enhanced by public lands
Thoughts from a vacation much enhanced by public lands

If you hike, fish, or ride ATVs regularly, you probably do so on public land.  Many of us who enjoy these activities, myself included, take for granted that access will continue unfettered in perpetuity. But with rare exceptions, such as defined “wilderness” areas, there is no promise that the current use will be the future use for any given parcel of land...

More ...
Week of 11 March 13: Water, water everywhere...
Week of 11 March 13: Water, water everywhere...

Our theme for the month of March at Paperitalo Publications is water usage. So, I thought I would start off with the wild and theoretical and then here, and in our other publications during the month (do you know we now have nine other publication issues during the month besides Nip Impressions and PaperMoney?) we would move towards the practical as the month goes along.

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes            MP3             WAV

More ...

Powered by Bondware
News Publishing Software

The browser you are using is outdated!

You may not be getting all you can out of your browsing experience
and may be open to security risks!

Consider upgrading to the latest version of your browser or choose on below: