Industry News

Skills shortage threatens future earnings and growth prospects of U.S. manufacturers

28 May 2014 U.S. manufacturers may be losing up to 11 percent annually* of their earnings as a result of increased production costs stemming from a shortage of skilled workers, according to a new study from Accenture and The Manufacturing Institute.

Best Papers highlight new research in Coating & Graphic Arts, Process Control

12 Jul 2017 By Monica Shaw (The following is excerpted from the June, 2017 issue of TAPPI Journal, an industry-leading peer-reviewed research publication available every month to TAPPI members.)

Top Young Professionals are Ready to Make Their Mark

12 Apr 2017 JAN BOTTIGLIERI and SAMANTHA GEIER The next generation of industry leaders are not interested in “the way things were” for pulp, paper, and packaging producers. They’re interested in the opportunities ahead, and in how they can launch careers that take full advantage of those opportunities.

Celluforce’s Sebastien Corbeil on commercializing nanotech

22 Feb 2017 As president and CEO of CelluForce—the world leader in the development and production of cellulose nanocrystals (CNC)—Sebastien Corbeil has an expert perspective on commercializing nanotechnology in the pulp and paper industry. Corbeil has more than 20 years of international business experience; he holds an MBA from DePaul University and a M. Eng in Chemical Engineering from McGill University. CelluForce was founded in 2012 with the mission to commercialize cellulose nanocrystals; Corbeil joined in April, 2015. Current company shareholders are Domtar, FPInnovations, Schlumberger and Fibria.

Getting the most from safety inspections

01 Feb 2017 JAY SHELLOGG I enjoyed reading Graeme Rodden’s article “Know the State of Your Emergency Showers” in the Jan/Feb issue of Paper360°. I read it with a since of urgency, and reached out to a colleague of mine, Carlo Odoardi, to help me write this response

FPInnovations and Kruger dedicate cellulose filament demonstration plant

02 Jul 2014 FPInnovations and Kruger Inc. [on June 17, 2014] dedicated the world’s first cellulose filament (CF) demonstration plant at Kruger’s Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada, mill.

Why Maine’s Paper Mills are Closing

15 Oct 2014 According to an article published October 3, 2014, by the Sun Journal, Lewiston, Maine, there’s no one explanation for why three Maine mills have closed so far this year—East Millinocket, Old Town, and Bucksport each supply, or supplied, different markets—but they share the common challenge of relatively high costs for energy and wood while demand for their current products has declined. The three mills that closed were in tough markets.

Cracking the Code to Innovation

05 Nov 2014 Everyone says they want innovation in their organization, but when an ambitious employee offers it to a CEO, for example, the idea is often shot down.

Biodegradable computer chips made from wood

24 Jun 2015 Portable electronics ―typically made of non-renewable, non-biodegradable and potentially toxic materials―are discarded at an alarming rate in consumers' pursuit of the next best electronic gadget.

Could plastic bag bans hurt paper?

14 Dec 2016 Producers of paper bags may cheer the idea of banning thin plastic grocery bags. Thousands of them seem to clutter streets and flutter from tree branches in many metropolitan areas, and banning bags made from non-renewable plastic seems like it would be a boon for proponents of sustainable paper bags. Yet in some areas, the bans and fees are including paper bags in what some are calling “regulatory overreach.”

Invention, innovation and US jobs

09 Nov 2016 Ben Thorp, Harry Seamans, and Masood Akhtar Biorenewable Deployment Consortium, Madison, WI, USA According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) there were 17,619,000 Americans employed in the manufacturing section in January 1998; by January 2010, this figure had declined to 11,462,000 or a loss of 6,157,000 factory jobs in 12 years (Hemphill et al. 2015). This does not count the number of “consequential” jobs that were also lost. This loss of manufacturing jobs has reached the point of creating national concern.

Classroom Paper Use Increasing, Survey Shows

12 Oct 2016 Though the “digital classroom” may be in the news, a recent report confirms that kids, teachers and parents still love paper. Paper and Productive Learning: The Second Annual Back-to-School Report, commissioned by the Paper and Packaging Board, surveyed 4,300 students, parents and teachers in the United States and shows that not only does paper still have a role in the classroom, but its use and importance is growing.

DoE grants $2.5M to study biorefinery waste use, renewable bioproducts

10 Aug 2016 By Kathleen Phillips The U.S. Department of Energy has granted $2.5 million for a Texas A&M AgriLife Research study to find ways to use biorefinery waste to make new, marketable products.

Report on the business ecosystem for cellulosic nanomaterials

03 Aug 2016 By Art Ragauskas Editor’s note: This article originally ran in the June, 2016 issue of TAPPI Journal, TAPPI’s flagship research publication provided each month to members.

Rick's Tips - Calender safety

22 Jun 2016 Nanotechnology—defined as science, engineering, and technology conducted at the nanoscale, which is about 1 to 100 nanometers—has been a hot topic in the paper industry, as researchers work to define opportunities for industry innovation. To help papermakers explore those opportunities.

Is more foreign boxboard finding its way into the US market?

01 Jun 2016 By Dustin Jalbert, economist, paper packaging The unprecedented growth in global boxboard capacity has understandably generated some concerns about how effectively the marketplace can absorb these volumes in the near term, particularly in a weak global economic environment. China’s aggressive expansion into virgin boxboard has been well in excess of both domestic and even global demand growth for virgin boxboard over the last several years, and now market players await the impact of another salvo of capacity from Europe. The European projects alone will add roughly 1.2 million metric tons of folding boxboard capacity (FBB) capacity through 2017. We have explored these and other global trends in our recent World Boxboard Study.

3D printing cellulose materials for cars, cruise ships, and more

07 Apr 2021 Cellulose is an ideal raw material for electrical insulation components, but manufacturing these products requires a considerable measure of craftsmanship.

The Future of Active and Intelligent Packaging to 2025

09 Sep 2020 In 2020, the value of the combined active and intelligent packaging market—also referred to as smart packaging—is projected to reach US$6.33 billion, with the active packaging market valued at US$4.98 billion and the intelligent packaging market valued at US$1.35 billion.

Brighter days forecast for CelluForce

18 May 2016 By Graeme Rodden. Note: This article is provided to Ahead of the Curve readers as an advance preview of the May/June issue of Paper360°, which mails later this week.

Brazil’s Pulp, Paper and Forest Sector Investing R$35.5 Billion through 2023

27 Oct 2021 Brazil’s Pulp, Paper and Forest Sector Investing R$35.5 Billion through 2023