In this episode we welcome Karen Dillon, an acclaimed author, speaker, and thought leader in the areas of innovation, leadership, and personal success.  Join Karen Dillon and Paper360° Editorial Director Jan Bottiglieri as they discuss What Dillon calls “Market-Creating Innovation” – the type of innovation that can really make a difference for producers and end-users.

It starts with a struggle, she says. Once companies learn to identify where their customers are struggling, opportunities open up. “It’s really exciting, because you can see struggle in very surprising places,” she says. “And if you can see the struggle, you can start thinking from scratch about solving it.”

 We also discuss how leaders can foster innovation; what it means to support “prosperity”, and how the paper industry is particularly well-positioned to take advantage of new opportunities for success.

Today we talk with Ed Stuczynski, an engineer with Menasha Packaging Company and this year’s program chair for SuperCorrExpo, coming up August 8 -12, 2021 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, FL. Held only once every four years, SuperCorrExpo is one of the most influential corrugated packaging-focused trade shows in the Western Hemisphere—and Ed will be giving us a “sneak peek” at what’s in store. 

 We also talk about the effects that COVID-19 has had on the corrugated packaging industry and whether those effects are likely to last. For instance, Ed suggests that the pandemic effects are forcing the industry to look at automation differently. “Labor shortages have been an issue,” he says. “I think we’re going to look at ways to automate the process… and automation often leads to better-paying jobs.”

 Join Ed Stuczynski and Paper360° Editorial Director Jan Bottiglieri for an engaging look at what’s ahead for corrugated – and make sure to register for SuperCorrExpo! 

 For SuperCorrExpo program highlights and registration: https://supercorrexpo.org

In our seventh podcast, Paper360° Editorial Director Jan Bottiglieri speaks with a panel of Project Managers from leading pulp and paper industry supplier Valmet. We’ll talk about “success through resilience”—the idea that if you really want to have every element in place for a successful project, you can’t ignore the skills and talents that make people flexible, adaptable, and ready to innovate.  

 Valmet project managers Luan Fellman, Mike Fiore, Mikko Iitti, and Joe Lambie all share their perspectives on what resilience means to them – and how it helps when crunch time happens. “I think ‘resilience’ means you’re not going back to where you were; you’re stretching, you’re growing… you’re able to adapt to change,” says Fellman. “During COVID, that’s been so critical.”

 We’re following up this month’s podcast with a feature in the May/June issue of Paper360° that details a few startup projects that put these ideas in action. If you think it sounds impossible to have a successful equipment startup during a global pandemic, check out “Success through Resilience” in the Techlink Section of Paper360°’s May/June issue.  https://paper360.tappi.org

In Episode 6 we speak with Thomas M. Nelson, author of the book One Day Stronger, a newly-released book that tells the turnaround story of the Appleton Coated Mill in Wisconsin’s paper valley. Host Jan Bottiglieri talks with Tom about what he learned growing up in a papermill town, and how pulp and paper is a “quintessential American manufacturing industry.” 

As Nelson comments, “We have to get over this false narrative that this is a dying industry… this industry is worthwhile. It needs time, money, and resources… It needs a champion.”

 About the book:

In August, 2017, Appleton Coated, an historic mill in Wisconsin’s paper valley, was sold to an industrial scrapper; hundreds of jobs were threatened, and a way of life hung in the balance. But then the unlikely happened: The mill’s union local and one county official leveraged an obscure legal strategy to stop the selloff. Today, the Appleton Coated mill is alive and well, operating as Midwest Paper Group. One Day Stronger tells the story behind this remarkable turnaround and shows how labor, working in common cause with business and local government, can restore the American dream.

“One Day Stronger is one of the best books, if not the best, about the paper industry and perhaps about American Industry in general.”

—Gerry Ring, Professor Emeritus, University of Wisconsin—Stevens Point

https://onedaystrongerbook.com 

In this episode we talk to Dana Mosora, founder of Dana Mosora Consulting and a consultant for the European CEFLEX (Circular Economy for Flexible Packaging) Consortium. She will also be keynote speaker at the 2021 International Flexible Packaging and Extrusion Division (IFPED) Virtual Conference on March 17th.

 Mosora and host Jan Bottiglieri, Paper360°, will discuss an ambitious goal: the CEFLEX “Mission Circular” target to make all flexible packaging in Europe circular by 2025. “It’s an exciting journey… If you’d ask me a year and a half ago, I’d have been skeptical that we would get there,” says Mosora. “Today, I’m optimistic that we’ll get reasonably close.” 

 Mosora says it’s all about engagement – and we’ll find out how the circular economy presents not only an answer to the environmental challenges posed by plastic packaging, but a true business opportunity. We’ll also learn how the flexible packaging industry is engaging with young professionals eager to make a difference.

 “What’s important is to show how we can address big problems—and show it with concrete solutions,” Mosora says.

 Register for the IFPED Virtual Conference: https://events.tappiflexible.org

 Learn more about CEFLEX: https://ceflex.eu

 Visit Dana Mosora Consulting, dedicated to driving the Circular Economy for Plastic Packaging: http://www.danamosora-consulting.eu/

 Read about Mosora’s legacy project, the ASASE Foundation in Accra, Ghana. The foundation is helping entrepreneur women from under-privileged communities start social enterprises in recycling plastic packaging, to deviate it from urban and marine littering: https://asasegh.com

If you’re a professional involved in almost any area of pulp and paper manufacturing, you’re aware of TAPPI Standards. But how are these standards created? What importance do they play in our industry?

For this episode, Paper360° Editorial Director Jan Bottiglieri speaks with Chris Czyryca, president of Collaborative Testing Services Inc. Chair of the Quality and Standards Management Committee. 

Chris admits that his initial foray into the TAPPI Standards process was not exactly by choice. “How I got involved, quite frankly, was that my boss told me that I was going to get involved!” he says. “And I would encourage other bosses to do the same. I do that now with my people… it is the best way to learn about Standards.”

Listeners will learn about how easy it is to join a Standard-Specific Interest Group (SSIG)—and how rewarding that peer-to-peer networking can be. “You’re working on something for the industry as a whole; and that knowledge, that experience, that résumé-building… it all carries over.”

            Standards creation is a process that’s truly BETTER TOGETHER and we’re excited to bring you this engaging look at how you can be a part of the process.

Click here to learn more about becoming involved in TAPPI Standards development. 

In our third podcast, Paper360° Editorial Director Jan Bottiglieri speaks with two TAPPI Student Chapter leaders about the challenges the pandemic lockdown has created for students; what their ideal industry careers would look like; and how they’ve maintained their paper program connections while away from campus. Our student guests are:

            Andrew Chu, a junior at NC State University pursuing a dual degree in Chemical Engineering and Paper Science & Engineering. Andrew serves as President for the TAPPI Student Chapter and is on the Executive Board for the AIChE Student Chapter. Andrew recently spent eight months on co-op with WestRock; for the summer of 2021, he will be a Technical Sales Intern at Ecolab.

Lea Scrapchansky, a sophmore at the University of Maine studying chemical engineering. Lea is involved with the UMaine Pulp and Paper Foundation and is on the planning Committee for the 2021 Student Summit. She began her involvement in the UMaine TAPPI chapter as freshman representative, and she now serves as TAPPI treasurer.

Both students are excited about their futures in an industry that, partly due to pandemic-related lockdowns, is being more publicly acknowledged as truly essential. As Andrew comments, “I’m very happy. I love the community we have at NC State, and compared to some other engineering disciplines… they just want us to graduate with experience. We have a really good co-op and internship program.”

Join us for an engaging conversation with two promising young leaders on BETTER TOGETHER.

Our second episode showcases long-time educator Dr. Michael J. Kocurek, Professor Emeritus of Paper Science & Engineering at North Carolina State University, and one of the world’s most recognized educators in the industry. Dr. Kocurek is a TAPPI Fellow and has received a host of other awards, including induction into the Paper Industry International Hall of Fame. In this lively discussion, he shares his many experiences as well as thoughts on attracting, training and retaining young industry professionals and the myriad of industry opportunities available to them.

This episode features an interview with Matt Elhardt, Vice President, Global Sales, Fisher International. Mr.Ellhardt shared his thoughts on the ripple effect the pandemic is having on the paper and tissue market, its impact on away from home (AFH), at home (AH), and communications paper products and how the industry is adapting to the work from home (WFH) shift. He talks about current market uncertainties, scenario planning, driving decisions using data, and also the role of the industry as an integral part of the circular economy and sustainably supported future.