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

Patent Applications and Patents

Cleaning and Conditioning of Dryer Fabrics

Dryer fabric contamination can affect sheet handling, threading, and drying rate -- as well as creating sheet defects and/or sheet breaks.

Deflection analysis for optimum creping performance

The limitations of tissue production at the doctor blade are determined by the weakest point of the sheet blade interface. This is the point where the sheet will break, corrugate, pick or tear causing the machine slow down to run. To optimize your tissue machine, periodic doctor blade alignment is usually made, however, very few machines have also performed a Deflection Analysis.

Watch this humanoid robot install drywall

Free Pumpkin Carving Patterns and Stencils

[Adv.] Airmaster Aerator

MIT expert: Carbon-neutral biomass 'accounting fraud'

It takes more than 30 tractor-trailer loads of wood a day to feed Nova Scotia Power's Port Hawkesbury biomass plant when it's running.

Resolute's Calhoun Mill Employees Recognized by the Tennessee Valley Authority for their Carbon Reduction Efforts

Employees of Resolute's Calhoun (Tennessee) pulp, paper and tissue mill have been recognized by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) with a Carbon Reduction Award for their significant reductions in emission rates for 2016.

Where is Jim this week?

As I travel, I am always looking for someone to go to dinner with, share a barbeque sandwich lunch and so forth.

Huhtamaki invests Euro 7 million in operations in Russia

Huhtamaki is investing approximately EUR 7 million in its fiber packaging operations in Russia to facilitate further growth.

Södra to acquire Bergvik Skog's forest holding in Latvia

Södra is acquiring Bergvik Skog AB's forest holding in Latvia. The total area is 111,100 hectares, of which 80,300 comprise forest land.

Canfor to Acquire Elliott Sawmilling Co., Inc.

Canfor Corporation announces it has entered into an agreement to purchase Elliott Sawmilling Co., Inc. located in Estill, South Carolina.

Kimberly-Clark tax break bill to get hearing, vote uncertain

A $100 million tax break bill designed to keep paper products giant Kimberly-Clark Corp. from closing an Appleton-area plant will get a public hearing in the Legislature, but approval remains uncertain.

Ahlstrom-Munksjö inaugurates new parchment paper production line in Saint-Séverin, France

Ahlstrom-Munksjö is increasing parchment paper production capacity and is inaugurating a new production line in Saint-Séverin in France.

DS Smith named UK Packaging Company of the Year

DS Smith has been awarded the title of UK Packaging Company of the Year at the UK Packaging Awards.

Major damage avoided after two fires at Orchids Paper mill

The Orchids Paper Mill suffered two fires in less than 30 hours, in what fire officials are calling "preventable" fires.

Solaris Paper takes possession of new facility; plans eight production lines

Solaris Paper announced a major capital project this week that will see the company add eight production lines and employ 180 workers in Southern California.

Breaking News: Sources say International Paper shutting down several mill capital projects

International Paper has instructed contractors and suppliers this week to stop work on multiple capital projects at its mills, according to reliable sources.

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.

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.

Introducing Pixelle Specialty Solutions

Pixelle Specialty Solutions™ is headquartered in Spring Grove, Pennsylvania and is a leading manufacturer and supplier of specialty paper and engineered products with manufacturing facilities in Pennsylvania and Ohio.

WestRock Completes Acquisition of KapStone

WestRock Company announced that it has completed the acquisition of KapStone Paper and Packaging Corporation./p>

Are you struggling to fill Maintenance Technician roles?

According to the BLS, "Overall employment of industrial machinery mechanics, machinery maintenance workers, and millwrights is projected to grow 7 percent from 2016 to 2026." If you're like most U.S. manufacturers today, these resources are extremely challenging to find, hire, and retain. What is your strategy?

West Fraser announces production reduction at Fraser Lake and Quesnel sawmills in British Columbia

West Fraser says it will permanently curtail approximately 300 million board feet of combined lumber production at its Fraser Lake and Quesnel sawmills in British Columbia, Canada.

P&G Thinks Inside the Box with New Tide Eco-Box

New bag-in-box designed for eCommerce ships Liquid Tide more efficiently.

Smurfit Kappa receives top listing for global CSR activity for fifth consecutive year

Smurfit Kappa has been named European Supplier of the Year by 3M, the global science and innovation company behind leading brands including Scotch, Command and Post-it.

2018 AF&PA Sustainability Award Winners Announced at Annual Meeting

Five member companies recognized for outstanding sustainability projects.

Stora Enso introduces new sustainable RFID tag technology ECO for intelligent packaging

Stora Enso launches a new sustainable RFID tag technology called ECO™ by Stora Enso, designed for intelligent packaging functionalities in supply chain, retail and e-commerce applications.

WestRock Honored for Design Excellence by Paperboard Packaging Council

Company Receives 12 Awards at Annual Paperboard Packaging Competition, Including Inaugural Digital Application of the Year Award.

FITNIR Scores Breakthrough Project with Fibria

As a part of its Industry 4.0 transformation, Fibria's selection of FITNIR's technology was based on the importance of accurate and relevant data in moving towards a new era in process control where online data availability is essential.

Smurfit Kappa receives top listing for global CSR activity for fifth consecutive year

Smurfit Kappa has been awarded the gold Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) rating by EcoVadis, a leading evaluator of global supply chains, for the fifth successive year.

Irving Pulp and Paper in N.B. fined $3.5M for dumping effluent

Irving Pulp and Paper Ltd. has been hit with one of largest penalties ever imposed in Canada for an environmental violation.

Domtar's Johnsonburg Mill Hosts Local High School Students to Showcase Career Opportunities in Modern Manufacturing

Nearly 50 Johnsonburg Area High School juniors learned about a variety of career opportunities at one of the world's most technologically advanced paper mills

Catching up with University of Washington BSE Senior Daaniya Iyaz

Paperitalo Publications was able to catch up with Daaniya Iyaz, a senior in the program. Miss Iyaz is from Sammamish, Washington, and we asked her a few questions about her experiences at UW.

Catching up with UWSP Paper Science and Engineering Senior Katie Ebelt

Paperitalo Publications was able to catch up with Katie Ebelt, a senior in the program. Miss Elbelt is from Manitowoc, Wisconsin, and we asked her a few questions about her experiences at UWSP.

Catching up with N.C. State Paper Science and Engineering Senior Kat Santoro

Close to 200 students are enrolled in the N.C. State Paper Science and Engineering program, and Paperitalo Publications was able to catch up with Kat Santoro, a senior in the program who is also pursuing the Process Control certificate.

The Light Green Machine Institute

Ideas you can use now.

A passion for cars

I'm convinced kids should learn to drive as early as possible in order to develop the muscle memory for routine tasks behind the wheel. Also, we should put our kids in the safest vehicles we can afford. These may or may not be the coolest ones on the road. Probably not.

Capital Arguments for October 2018

Check out TALOtech groups on LinkedIn

The purpose of the TALOtech groups on LinkedIn is to provide a convenient forum for people working within the manufacturing part of this industry to share technical and operating related dialog to promote safe and competitive operations.

Five Reasons Why Your Estate Plan Needs Paper

No one likes to think about death, but everyone should. We're all going to die someday. So why not greet the end of life with peace of mind, knowing that your estate plan is well organized and easy to find by those you leave behind?

Paper and Wood Products Make Modern Life Possible

Our modern society is one that increasingly relies on technology for everyday life, work and study, yet the desire and benefits of paper and wood-based products remains consistent.

Hard-Working Employees Drive Forest Product Industry Success

The forest product industry directly employs approximately 950,000 men and women and supports more than twice that many derivative jobs in supplier industries and local communities. While the industry lost jobs during the Great Recession, our manufacturers have been adding jobs in recent years as the economy expands.

Free and Fair Trade Critical to U.S. Pulp and Paper Industry

During National Forest Products Week, we underscore the importance of free and fair trade to our industry.

Pulp & Paper Radio International Program Schedule and Archives

Click here to listen to our latest episodes!

Check out the Paperitalo Library

Items just for you

September 2018

Download Audio File of the September 2018 Nip Impressions columns.

August 2018

Download Audio File of the August 2018 Nip Impressions columns.

Energy & the Environment News

Your contributions are welcome in this department, regardless of point of view. A few criteria--if you send us a copyrighted piece, also provide a permission to publish statement from the owner. We will not publish overtly political pieces or anonymous pieces.