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We're excited to bring listeners this first of two special episodes recorded at TAPPICon 2026, April 26-29 in Columbus, OH.

We had a great turnout for TAPPICon 2026 and the new program format made it easy for people to engage, learn, and grow. TAPPICon’s multi-track program is planned and executed by real working papermakers, and 2026 brought Mill Monday, Technical Tuesday, and Workshop Wednesday to the forefront.

As TAPPI's official event podcast, Better Together is happy to bring you the opportunity to experience a taste of what makes TAPPICon special. We've assembled three interviews recorded with attendees at the event. Our guests for this episode are:

Brian Mock, owner and president of Event Capture Systems:
"International Paper came to us and said, 'We need you to help us develop a camera-based safety system to add an additional layer of safety'... and it's been transformative."

Joe Braun, division president, process industries and Wilson Monteiro, global  business line manager, Pulp, Paper & Fiber, ABB:
"Reliability comes from the design of the plant, then the way that you are managing your asset, then (from) how you are operating your plant. If you have a stable operation, you have a direct impact on reliability."

Abigail Hickman, third year dual major in ChemE/PSE at NC State University:
"The opportunities are endless and industry professionals I meet... are really excited to see where I go with this."

YOU can get in on the conversation! Mark your calendars for April 24 – 28, 2027, and join us in Indianapolis, IN, for TAPPICon 2027. We hope this podcast captured some of the excitement of TAPPICon but to really get it, you need to be there.

Thanks to our amazing guests for sharing their knowledge and stories. Be sure to check out our second TAPPICon 2026 Episode as well, where we meet three more of our TAPPICon attendees.