In his 46 years in the pulp and paper industry, Michael McNeil has traveled far and wide and has witnessed a lot of changes in the business.

"It's been an interesting career," says Michael, the longtime owner and president of Miami Machine Inc. in Overpeck, Ohio. "I've worked for two European equipment companies and did a lot of traveling for them. I have also worked for paper mills and have worked for suppliers in paper chemicals and press felts."

After working in the U.S. for companies in Georgia, Wisconsin, New York, Indiana and Ohio, Michael started at Miami Machine Corp. in 1987, as VP of Sales. Founded in 1972, Miami Machine began operations in Hamilton, Ohio. In 1975, the company moved to its present location in Overpeck.

In 2001, Michael purchased the company and was its president and owner until August 2015, when the company merged with Miami Products Inc. of Cleves, Ohio. Michael now serves as vice president of sales of the company, which has retained the Miami Machine name.

The press release from the merger states the following: "The combined company provides customers with an expanded set of machining, fabrication, and engineering service capabilities, particularly with large milling and lathe needs, along with considerable expertise in the design and building of specialized machines. The acquisition will allow for the development of additional manufacturing space and provides increased scheduling flexibility."

Michael said that during his time in the industry, he's seen a major shift away from paper mills having departments dedicated to technical services - in most cases, suppliers like Miami Machine Inc., are now providing these services.

He states "when times get tough in certain grades, spending on maintenance and technical services often mistakenly gets "put on the back burner. When revenue shrinks, you'll see companies spend only what is absolutely necessary to keep their paper machines running."

In that vein, Michael says that the United States is lagging behind other countries when it comes to being offered tax incentives to help companies upgrade their facilities.

"In Finland and Germany, you'll find no operating paper technology over 10 years old. In countries like that, you're seeing major paper machine upgrades every 2-4 years."

In the coming years, Michael says he expects to see additional major changes in terms of materials used in building, rebuilding and servicing mill equipment - as well as production.

"I think we'll see a lot more development in waterless paper technology and engineering, starting with the lighter weight grades. I also think we'll see companies going to lighter machinery to reduce the capital equipment cost, using new alloy steel materials and even high density plastic in paper machines in the future.

"I think the Light Green Machine Institute is doing a lot to promote these ideas, and I think we'll see a lot of these ideas being developed in the next decade," he added.

Michael says he thinks Miami Machine Inc. (http://miamimachine.com/) is in a good position as the paper industry continues to chance and evolve.

"I think our future is bright," he says. "We can provide any service on a paper machine; calenders, reels, press sections, fourdriniers, suction rolls and so forth, and we have the resources to do that. In the USA, there are very few facilities well positioned like Miami Machine.