Read the July 29th, 2026 Green Bay Innovation Group Newsletter here.
July 29th, 2026 Newsletter
Month: July 2026
What’s Next for the U.S. Paper Industry? Hear from Leaders Who Helped Shape It
The paper industry is navigating numerous changes that are reshaping the market. Global competition, evolving customer preferences, sustainability initiatives, and emerging technologies are transforming the industry. For executives and decision-makers, understanding these changes is essential. That’s why the Green Bay Innovation Group invites paper and pulp professionals to an exclusive seminar on Tuesday, Aug. 11, featuring three industry leaders whose careers have influenced some of the world’s most recognized paper organizations.
Asian Paper and Pulp Seminar
Time: 11:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Date: Tuesday, Aug. 11
Place: Urban Hub 340 N. Broadway, Green Bay, WI
Lunch: Provided
Cost: $60.00
Gain an Insider’s Perspective on Asia Pulp & Paper
Asia Pulp & Paper has grown into one of the world’s largest pulp, paper, and packaging companies, serving customers in more than 150 countries. Its influence extends far beyond Asia, impacting global markets, supply chains, innovation, and competitive strategies that affect manufacturers throughout North America. At this seminar, attendees will hear directly from two former APP executives who helped lead innovation and research during periods of tremendous growth.
Jeffrey D. Lindsay
Dr. Jeffrey D. Lindsay brings decades of leadership in intellectual property, innovation, and paper science. As the former Head of Intellectual Property for Asia Pulp & Paper (China) and Corporate Patent Strategist at Kimberly Clark, Lindsay has worked at the intersection of technology, innovation, and competitive strategy throughout his career.
Recognized annually since 2015 as one of the world’s leading intellectual property strategists by IAM Media Group, Lindsay has advised organizations on sustainable packaging, product innovation, and technology commercialization. His unique perspective offers valuable insight into how one of the world’s largest paper companies approaches innovation and long-term growth.
Pat Chen
Former Global Head of Research & Development for Asia Pulp & Paper’s tissue business, Pat Chen directed R&D and quality systems for one of Asia’s most respected tissue brands.
During more than a decade with APP, Chen led scientists, managed complex regulatory challenges, advanced quality control systems, developed intellectual property portfolios, and oversaw product innovation across global operations. His previous experience with Kimberly-Clark and Scott Paper provides a rare perspective comparing innovation strategies across major international paper manufacturers.
A Look at the U.S. Paper Industry
Understanding global trends is only part of the equation. Attendees will also get a clear picture of what’s happening in the U.S. Speaking about U.S. paper and pulp is Brit Swisher, Area Vice President – Northern Region for Midland Paper, Packaging + Supplies, one of the nation’s largest independent paper and packaging distributors.
With more than four decades of experience in paper distribution and specialty papers, Swisher will discuss the current state of the U.S. paper industry, market trends, customer demands, and opportunities that lie ahead. His perspective from the distribution side provides valuable insight into how manufacturers can position themselves for future success.
Why The Asia Seminar Matters
Whether your organization manufactures pulp, paper, packaging, tissue, or specialty products, today’s business environment requires a broad understanding of global competitors, technological innovation, and evolving market dynamics.
The Asian Paper and Pulp Seminar offers a unique opportunity to hear from professionals who led innovation inside both North American and international paper organizations.
Attendees will gain insights into:
How global paper manufacturers influence U.S. markets
Innovation strategies driving competitive advantage
Research and development trends shaping future products
Intellectual property’s growing role in paper manufacturing
Current challenges and opportunities within the U.S. paper industry
What paper executives should be watching in the years ahead
An Event for Industry Leaders
Designed for executives, plant managers, engineers, R&D professionals, sales leaders, and business decision makers, this seminar delivers strategic perspectives that extend well beyond day-to-day operations. If your business depends on understanding where the paper industry is headed, not just where it has been, this is a conversation you won’t want to miss.
Join GBIG on Tuesday, Aug. 11, in Green Bay and discover how global innovation, market trends, and emerging opportunities are shaping the future of the paper industry.
Sales Rewired: Turn AI into a Competitive Advantage
AI Isn’t Replacing Great Salespeople. It’s Giving Them an Edge.
Artificial intelligence has moved far beyond the hype. The question isn’t whether AI will change sales and marketing. It’s whether your organization will lead the change or struggle to catch up. That’s why business leaders and sales professionals won’t want to miss this opportunity to attend Green Bay Innovation Group’s Sales Rewired: Innovative Selling for the 5P Industries. We’ll hear from Matt Seitz, one of the nation’s leading voices on practical AI for business.
Sales Rewired: Innovative Selling for the 5P Industries
7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 30
Miron Construction, 1471 McMahon Drive, Neenah
Lunch Provided
Cost is $100
Learn from UW-Madison’s AI Hub for Business
Matt Seitz has spent his career helping some of the world’s largest organizations turn data and AI into measurable business results. His clients have included industry leaders such as Google, Walmart, Medtronic, Kimberly-Clark, and 3M. As Director of the AI Hub for Business at UW-Madison, Matt works directly with organizations to bridge the gap between emerging AI technologies and real-world business outcomes.
Gain Insights from a Former Google Executive
Before joining UW-Madison, Matt spent 14 years at Google, helping shape the company’s approach to retail analytics and digital performance. As Director of Performance for Google’s $16 billion U.S. retail search business, he led analytics teams, pioneered Google’s retail insights program, developed omnichannel strategies, and created financial frameworks that helped CFOs better measure digital marketing investments.
His experience gives him a unique perspective on how AI is transforming the way businesses attract customers, understand buyer behavior, and grow revenue.
Get Practical Strategies You Can Use Now
Attendees will gain insight into how organizations are using AI today to:
- Improve lead generation and customer targeting
- Personalize marketing at scale
- Increase sales productivity
- Make faster, data-driven decisions
- Enhance customer experiences
- Create competitive advantages without replacing human expertise
Whether you’re leading a manufacturing company, managing a sales team, directing marketing efforts, or developing business strategy, you’ll leave with actionable ideas you can begin implementing immediately.
Hear from a Nationally Recognized AI Leader
Matt is also the founder of Ground Truth: AI for Business, an annual summit bringing together executives, researchers, and practitioners to tackle the real challenges of enterprise AI adoption. He authors the AI InSeitz newsletter, followed by thousands of business leaders seeking practical insights into artificial intelligence. His expertise has been featured in The Wall Street Journal and the Associated Press, and he regularly delivers keynote presentations to executive audiences across the country.
Register for Sales Rewired: Innovative Selling for the 5P
Industries
Artificial intelligence isn’t replacing relationships, creativity, or strategic thinking. It’s making the best sales and marketing teams even more effective. Organizations that learn how to leverage AI today will build stronger customer relationships, uncover new opportunities, and outperform competitors tomorrow. Don’t miss Green Bay Innovation Group’s Sales Rewired: Innovative Selling for the 5P Industries. Learn from one of the industry’s most respected AI strategists and discover how your organization can turn artificial intelligence into a competitive advantage.
Matt Seitz Bio
Executive Director, AI Hub for Business
University of Wisconsin
Matt Seitz leads the AI Hub for Business at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he works with organizations to translate AI into practical business outcomes. He advises Fortune 500 companies including Google, Walmart, Medtronic, Kimberly-Clark, and 3M, and teaches AI strategy to senior executives and MBA students.
He is the founder of Ground Truth: AI for Business, an annual summit that brings together industry leaders, academics, and practitioners to address the challenges of enterprise AI adoption. He authors AI InSeitz, a newsletter on AI in business with over 3,000 subscribers. His perspectives have been featured in the Wall Street Journal and the AP, and regularly delivers keynote presentations on AI and business strategy.
Prior to Wisconsin, Matt spent 14 years at Google, where he served as Director of Performance for the company’s $16 billion U.S. retail search business. He led analytics teams of 35, pioneered Google’s retail insights program, led the company’s omnichannel strategy, and built frameworks for CFOs to drive precision in digital valuation.
Earlier in his career, he held technology leadership roles at McDonald’s and Abbott Laboratories.
Matt holds an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and serves as an executive advisor for the Keystone consulting group. An avid endurance athlete, Matt has completed four Ironmans and fifteen marathons. He lives in Skokie, Illinois with his wife and three children.
July 22nd, 2026 Newsletter
Read the July 22nd, 2026 Green Bay Innovation Group Newsletter here.
GBIG NEWS | 91 Stories and Links on the Internet 7/22/2026
GBIG News
Get links to the latest news, events, stories, and interviews from our 5P news members. Our goal is to remind the decision-makers in Wisconsin of the importance of our industry both historically, and more importantly, into the future.
Read the latest 91 Stories and Links on the Internet below.
Featured Stories
- Trump is taking aim at forest and wildfire research
- UW Platteville students examine Midwest Infrastructure projects
- Universities where the most alumni become entrepreneurs
- Converting equipment market research path to growth
- Google: Growing the next generation of American Workers
- Cellulose plastic enabling recycling biodegradable recycling
- Global Pulp and Paper Market Forecast t0 2035 with tissue and sustainable packaging leading the way
- How ai is making packaging smarter and less wasteful
- UW Madison’s Engineering Dean says time as Badger shaped his approach
- Science researchers move abroad under siege in the USA
- DNR issues PFAS monitoring general permit for biosolids
- A society that loses science loses the future
- China: Top Paper Napkin Manufacturer strengthen chain with innovation and sustainability manufacturing
- epr to go on trial Oregon lawsuits
- Megatrends poised to reshape North American Packaging
- New global study sees Fibre based food packaging to be leading sustainable material by 2045
- orbis Parent Company of Menasha Corporation Publishes Annual Corporate Social Responsibility Report
- pfas in dairy farming
- Manufacturer plans $150 million in former Middletown Paper Mill
- CEPI warns policy makers of slow sustained erosion in Europe Paper Industry
- UW Madison the Power of Partnership at Lambeau Business and Education working together
- UW Stout Polytechnic’s Red Cedar Basin Monitoring Group trains water scientists
- Amcor to Expand Dongguan packaging site in China
- Wisconsin based Rockline Industries recognized with 2026 World of Wipes Innovation Award
- As US scientists look abroad China aims to lure top talent away from the US.
- Hoffmaster to invest $65 million to expand Clintonville manufacturing
- Amcor New President talks growth
Packaging
- Circular Economy Opportunities: How Nonwovens Are Helping Packaging Companies Innovate
- What actually happens to packaging after it leaves your hands
- Apple to drop older packaging with numerous upgrades
- Packaging Innovations Bath and Body and Blue Ocean & Sustainability
- How Paperboard became packaging biggest story
- Top Global Packaging Trends 2026
AI
- ai doesn’t just help us think it thinks instead of us
- What CTOS miss when they ignore data stewardship in their ai road maps
- How ai factories are redefining energy infrastructure
- Reckitt’s bold ambition harnessing AI to refine growth and revenue
- AI Designs personal burgers balances taste, nutrition, and sustainability
- Should Printing Companies add ai chat to their website
China
- China’ Paper and Pulp Update
- China’s Pulp Boom
- Why China continue investing in Pulp amid overcapacity in the paper industry
- China has changed- Germany has unveiled strategy to cut reliance on China.
- Chinese students stay local as tensions arise in the world
- We welcomed China into the global system. In return, China has exported oppression, aggression and anti-Americanism
- Bankrolled and bioengineered, China supplants Wisconsin paper industry
- China’s provides unfair global advantages to the paper and pulp industries
- When a Monopoly importer learned when it tried to make things in the U.S.A.
- Analysis shows cutting China reliance would cost West $23 trillion
- China’s paper industry provides unfair global advantage supported by the government
- Why China continues investing in Pulp amid overcapacity in the paper industry
Sustainability
- Georgia-Pacific announces plans to expand premium tissue capacity
- Corporate sustainability is now a resilience strategy
- The cost of climate change inaction
- Sustainability gap exposed only one fifth of executives are qualifying financial impact
- Sawdust based foam alternative to polystyrene for sustainability
- Flexible packaging market to hit $320 billion by 2031 as consumers demand sustainable packaging
- Five questions brands should ask before joining the next big sustainability conversation
- A decade of change in what drives corporate sustainability
- Plastic recycling technologies face challenges in plastic sustainability goals
Members
- Ahlstrom release and label papers from Brazil
- ECOVA: A paper alternative to Plastic Packaging
- Wiman Corporation installs third QC Corona Treatment System
- Sun Chemical Sustainability commitment
- Wrap your brand in ECOVA from Rapids Packaging
- BiOrgin: Oil and Grease Resistant Paper
- CLA Named Seramount’s 100 Best Companies for Fourth Consecutive Years
- First Business Bank Quarterly Market Review
- Sun Chemical metallic solution for high visibility packaging appeal
- CLA invites the Public to ribbon cutting at new headquarters
- Miron Construction and Excel to build $1 billion potato plant
- Paper Dimensions Paper Slitting, Rewinding, & Paper Converting
- First Business Bank Real Business Check Fraud
Tossing for Inclusion 2026
Green Bay Innovation Group will co-sponsor Tossing for Inclusion, an inclusive bag toss tournament and fundraiser celebrating community, connection, and belonging. Open to people of all ages, abilities, and experience levels, this event brings participants together to compete as peers while supporting inclusive programs across the Fox Valley.
Tossing for Inclusion benefits VARC, a Fox Valley organization that supports and empowers children and adults with disabilities and other life barriers to build greater independence and community inclusion.
The event takes place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 19, at GameDay Sports Bar, N225 Stoney Brook Rd., Appleton. Registration includes three guaranteed tournament games, an event T-shirt, lunch, and two drink tickets per player.
Individuals of all ages, skill levels, and abilities are encouraged to participate. Casual and competitive brackets are available. No experience is required; just come ready to have fun and toss for inclusion. Be part of a day that makes a difference. Register at Varcinc.com.
GIBG Hosts: UW-Platteville Engineering Visits the Valley
GBIG will host “UW-Platteville Engineering Visits the Valley,” giving manufacturers an opportunity to meet college leadership, network with alumni, and learn about engineering partnerships with the college. Register today for the event, 3-5 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 8, at Holidays Pub and Grill, 3950 N Richmond St, Appleton. Drinks and appetizers will be provided.
Dura-Fibre: Paperboard Products
For over 85 years, Dura-Fibre has been manufacturing heavy-duty, attractive, and money-saving laminated paperboard products including packaging, sheets, book binding board, paperboard substrates and specialty products. Dura-Fibre accommodates a caliper range from .008” to .500” up to 96” wide.
For more info, visit our website at durafibre.com
GBIG Names Membership & Events Director
GREEN BAY WI July 14, 2026: Green Bay Innovation Group, a business consortium in the Great Lakes Region, welcomed Caity Wilhelm as Director of Membership & Events. Wilhelm is responsible for leading GBIG’s next chapter of growth through memberships and event planning.
“I’m genuinely honored to be part of an organization committed to growth, meaningful connection, and community impact,” Willhelm said. “I look forward to strengthening longlasting relationships, supporting initiatives that give back, and playing a role in efforts that create positive, lasting change.”
Based in Green Bay, Wisconsin, GBIG is a nonprofit foundation serving the region’s world-class manufacturing industry. As a business-to-business leader in Packaging, Paper, Plastics, Printing, Pulp (5P Industries) and Converting, GBIG hosts industry tours, seminars, a golf outing for charity, and an annual expo.
Wilhelm brings 17 years of hospitality, eventplanning, and management experience to her new role. She previously served as Catering Manager at Oneida Casino Hotel where she contributed to the success of the GBIG Showcase Expo in February 2026.
“I’ve built a career around bringing people together and turning big ideas into unforgettable moments. Whether I’m coordinating a largescale event or finetuning the smallest detail, I love creating experiences that feel seamless, thoughtful, and full of energy,” she said.
Marty Ochs, GBIG founder and executive director, said Wilhelm brings a relationship-first focus to the foundation.
“Caity is naturally friendly and outgoing, and she does a fantastic job connecting with our members, potential members, and others associated with the 5P and Converting Industry,” Ochs said. “GBIG has over 200 members, and our bi-weekly newsletter reaches 7,500 readers. Caity will help to keep GBIG’s momentum going strong.”
Wilhelm, of Green Bay, graduated from Oconto Falls High School and attended Northeast Wisconsin Technical College. She’s the mother of two daughters and two sons. She and her husband, Danny, enjoy attending their kids’ school and sporting events, boating, camping, hiking, and doing just about anything outdoors.
For more information about GBIG events or about GBIG membership, visit
GreenBayInnovationGroup.com or contact Wilhelm at greenbayinnovationgroup@gmail.com.
About Green Bay Innovation Group: Green Bay Innovation Group (GBIG) is a regional business
consortium supporting the Great Lakes Region’s Packaging, Paper, Plastics, Printing, Pulp (5P)
and the Converting industries. GBIG brings together business leaders to collaborate, share
knowledge, and strengthen the community through charitable giving, education, networking,
and events.
