Ahead of the Curve

US Manufacturing Sees Growth in Production

05 Jul 2017 The ongoing effects of recent US economic recessions are still being felt in many sectors including (and perhaps particularly) the forest products industries. While every industry faces its own challenges, what is the current state of overall manufacturing and logistics in the US? The answer may surprise you.

CEPI’s New Director General: ‘A Remarkable Industry’

28 Jun 2017 BY MARK RUSHTON The Confederation of European Paper industries (CEPI) has been working hard on behalf of the industry—particularly in lobbying on the major issues in the European parliament—for the last 25 years. CEPI will hold its 25th Anniversary event in the city of Brussels in November this year. Sylvain Lhôte joined CEPI as Director General in November last year.

Mountains of waste could lead to new U.S. manufacturing, jobs

21 Jun 2017 By Kathleen Phillips, Texas A&M University Researchers at Texas A&M University are exploring ways that lignin waste from pulp and paper operations can be transformed into carbon fibers used in a range of products from tennis rackets to automobiles.

National Labs explore energy-efficient solutions for paper industry

14 Jun 2017 Researchers at two national laboratories are developing new computer simulations that could help papermakers improve energy efficiency and cut energy costs. The project is part of the Department of Energy’s HPC4Mfg initiative, a multi-lab effort to use high-performance computing to address complex challenges in US manufacturing. Project outcomes could have significant benefits; the papermaking industry ranks third among the nation’s largest energy users, behind only petroleum-refining and chemical production, according to the US Energy Information Administration.

The Graying of the Paper Industry

07 Jun 2017 JOHN A. NEUN, P.E. This article appears in the May/June issue of Paper360°, the TAPPI member magazine, and is offered here for Ahead of the Curve readers who may have missed it.

TJ 2016 Best Research Paper: Mining Big Data to improve pulping and papermaking operations

31 May 2017 By Monica Shaw TAPPI and the TAPPI Journal (TJ) Editorial Board have selected the 2016 TAPPI Journal Best Research Paper Award winning paper: “Leveraging mill-wide big data sets for process and quality improvement in paperboard production,” authored by Jianzhong Fu and Peter W. Hart. The paper appeared on p. 309 of the May 2016 issue. This research was recognized by the Editorial Board for its innovation, creativity, scientific merit, and clear expression of ideas among the eight nominated papers.

Paper Airplane Day is a thing, and it’s terrific

24 May 2017 We all love holidays, but we gripe about them too: Long drives through snowstorms. Over-commercialization. Weird sweaters. Diet-busting meals that take forever to prepare and clean up after. True, “the holidays” offer a great reason to gather for fun with family and friends—but most holidays don’t focus the fun nearly enough on something that really matters to Ahead of the Curve readers: PAPER. What if you could celebrate a holiday with none of the hassle, but ALL of the paper? That’s National Paper Airplane Day.

Women in Manufacturing: Making an Impact

17 May 2017 The Manufacturing Institute, Deloitte and APICS have released a study titled “Women in Manufacturing: Stepping up to make an impact that matters.”

FPInnovation’s Trevor Stuthridge on bringing nanotech to market

10 May 2017 As executive vice president at FPInnovations, Trevor Stuthridge oversees the organization’s research, business development, and strategy delivery. He is a board member for the Institute of Forest Biosciences, Innoventures Canada, and holds adjunct professorships at the University of British Columbia and University of Toronto. FPInnovations was created as Canada’s forest sector innovation hub in 2007 through the merger of three leading forest sector research institutes: FERIC, Forintek and Paprican.

The Knowledge Trail

03 May 2017 MURRAY ELLIS One of the most rewarding and enjoyable parts of my career in the pulp and paper industry has been the opportunity to investigate and solve problems. The problem-solving process means that you are discovering, adapting and generating new information to address the problem at hand. In simple terms, you are acquiring knowledge in the pursuit of a solution. However, sometimes this problem-solving process does not find a solution easily.