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GBIG News Billerud Wisconsin Rapids

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WE NEED BILLERUD TO OPEN UP THE WISCONSIN RAPIDS PAPER MILL OR SELL IT WITHOUT RESTRICTIONS ON THE PAPER PRODUCTS THE MILL IS DESIGNED TO PRODUCE!  WISCONSIN NEEDS YOUR HELP TO REBUILD THE PAPER INDUSTRY!

embossed golden plaque

I recently received a picture dated September 11, 1974 Consolidated Papers, Inc. Dedicates this converting complex to serve the future growth of the graphics arts industry. My brother was the lead Engineer setting up the facility and I was the Sales and Marketing Manager supporting the Paper Distributors and the Commercial Printing Markets in the Midwest. Consolidated Papers was the leader in the production of coated papers servicing commercial, publication, catalog and direct mail printing industries nationwide. Simply, Consolidated Papers, Inc. made Wisconsin the Printing Capital of the USA. Today, the mill sits idle having a major impact on the State of Wisconsin and our communities! Our 5P industries are in serious trouble finding paper to support their businesses. We need to come up with a solution or become more dependent on Paper from Asia or Europe! The Wisconsin Paper Mill could provide enough paper to supply ALL of American’s needs with capacity to export paper worldwide!

I have had discussions with Billerud and I value the genuine relationship we have built! Billerud is very much like George Mead, the past President of Consolidated Papers, Inc. They are committed to paper production, their communities, sustainability, employees and growth in North America. Like Consolidated Papers, Inc. Billerud goes back 150 years in the Paper Industry!

  • We have seen St. Paper, LLC. Duluth: A $42.1 million project to reopen a paper mill in Duluth is among the big winners in the latest round of job creation grants from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.
  • The Michigan Strategic Fund approved a 15 year Forest Products Processing Renaissance Zone estimated to be worth $29.4 million in support of the project for Billerud’s Escanaba Mill Transformation Project.

The Green Bay Innovation Group is putting together a panel of industry experts to discuss the issues to rebuild the paper industry in Wisconsin which will include WEDC, the Wisconsin Paper Council and ALL interested in BUILDING BACK the Wisconsin Paper Industry. If you are interested, please contact me at:
608-698-3333 cell and text or martinpochs@gmail.com

Holly Jolly Year for Packerland Websites, Thanks to You

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As we reflect on 2022, the staff of Packerland Websites would like to call attention to what gives us the most satisfaction – giving organizations the strategies and tools they need to reach their goals. We love helping businesses and nonprofits move to the next level by providing exceptional writing, design, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), and ingenuity. Please allow us to do a little bragging.

Packerland Websites' Bill and Joan

The Packerland Websites’ team manages over 550 websites, offering the latest in cybersecurity and web design. We support the business community with memberships in five Chambers of Commerce: Pulaski, Green Bay, Oconto, Oconto Falls, and Peshtigo and the Howard Suamico Business Association. Owner Bill Koehne serves on the Oconto Falls Chamber Board of Directors. He understands the challenges of operating a business because he co-founded and co-owned a multi-million-dollar home construction company before opening Packerland Websites.

Packerland Websites’ prices are fair and competitive. Plus, nonprofit organizations get the VIP treatment, with up to half-price discounts. Additionally, Packerland Websites greatly reduces hosting fees for nonprofits, and on occasion, waives hosting fees altogether. It’s just another way to give back to the community. Packerland Websites is a proud supporter of Artists for the Humanities, Society for Faith and Children’s Education, Abrams Spotlight Productions Inc., the Volunteer Center of Brown County, and other nonprofits.

Bill is a 30-year member of the Brown County Home Builders Association, having served on the Showcase of Homes committee and other BCHBA committees. He also serves on the board of Green Bay Innovation Group, a Northeast Wisconsin business-to-business consortium of manufacturing and converting companies and supporting industries.

In addition to his professional affiliations, Bill is president of Abrams Spotlight Productions Inc., a local community theater organization. Most recently, Bill was assistant director for “White Christmas” and performed as Harry the Horse in “Guys and Dolls.” He helped organize the Green Bay Walleyes for Tomorrow fundraiser for many years and serves as committee chairman for Windjammers Sailing Club. At St. Pius Catholic Church, Bill is a music minister, Eucharistic minister, and lector who volunteers at Anchor of Hope TEC youth retreats. He’s a busy guy who’s committed to his faith, family, and community.

As Packerland Websites concludes its 11th year in business, we’re thankful for all of the businesses and nonprofits that helped make us who we are today. We appreciate your loyalty and trust in 2022 and look forward to serving you all in 2023. Happy New Year!

GBIG NEWS | 84 Stories and Links on the Internet 12/21/2022

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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 84 Stories and Links on the Internet below.

GBIG News Banner

Wisconsin

Events

Forests

Plastic

Industry

Printing

Corrugated

Member

Women Leaders in Industry Series

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Wi5P logo

Women in the 5P Industries and New North are sponsoring a free virtual webinar from 1-2pm CST on Tuesday, Jan. 23. Barb LaMue, president and CEO of New North Inc. will speak about Wisconsin’s diverse business development and upscaling talent. The New North is an 18-county regional development corporation in Northeast Wisconsin.

Register Here

GBIG Webinar: Stop Scaring Away Amazing Talent

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Do you know the 30% Rule, the Crab & Beer Rule, or the difference between abilities and skills? Learn about these topics and much more by attending the GBIG webinar, “Stop Scaring Away Amazing Talent.” Leading the webinar will be Joe Nowlin and Mike Quinn, HR professionals who revolutionized employee selection with the 15dots® Selection Process.

Who Will Benefit from this Webinar?

This hour-long webinar is geared to anyone involved in employee recruitment, hiring, management, and safety, specifically HR leaders, operations managers, project managers, and hiring professionals. Attendees will gain new insight into talent acquisition, employee selection, and job interview strategies to win the war for talent.

What is 15dots?

15 Dots logo

15dots, based in Neenah, Wisconsin, trains HR leaders and organizational personnel to adopt a rigorous employee selection process that is repeatable, scalable, and teachable. 15dots refers to five ability tests and 10 behavior-based interview dimensions critical to employee selection.

Stop Scaring Away Amazing Talent

  • Who: Presenters Joe Nowlin and Mike Quinn, 15dots
  • What: “Stop Scaring Away Amazing Talent” Webinar
  • When: 10am-11am CT, Thursday, Jan. 26
  • Where: Packerland Websites’ Conference Room 1 (located in the footer of Packerlandwebsites.com
    • Why: Fix the broken model of attracting, selecting and retaining talent.
    • Cost: Free
    • Register: GBIG Website Events
    • Sponsor: Green Bay Innovation Group, a business-to-business consortium of manufacturers in Northeast Wisconsin.

Meet the Presenters

Mike Quinn

Mike Quinn

Mike Quinn has worked tirelessly internally as a Human Resources Manager and externally as a
consultant for over three decades. As a 15dots partner, Mike helped to perfect the tools and precise methods to take the guesswork out of employee selection.

Joe Nowlin

Joe “Doc” Nowlin

Joe Nowlin earned his doctorate from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business. A former business professor, Joe designed, tested, and installed proprietary employee selection procedures for manufacturing organizations, revolutionizing the way they do business. As a 15dots partner, Joe adapted
these systems for medium-sized and smaller organizations of all types.

GBIG NEWS SUCCESS STORY UPDATES – December 21, 2022

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The Green Bay Innovation Group has had an exceptional 2022 and we are looking forward to a successful 2023. We want to thank ALL of our SPONSORS for their support with members coming from ALL over the USA. Wisconsin is recognized as one of the largest region for the 5P, Converting and Supporting Industries. We are the place to do business!

GBIG News Banner

Our success includes:

  • Donating $30,000 back into our communities supporting those in need.
  • The GBIG NEWS publication continues to grow supporting our business communities with updated information on the 5P and Converting Industries. We highlight success stories from Wisconsin companies along with our Members across the USA!
  • GBIG has over 120 plus members, and we anticipate reaching 150 by the end of 2023. We offer very affordable annual Memberships with 50% going back into the community.
  • The GBIG website has become a tremendous resource and we will continue to improve it by adding new features to be the best website in the industry! We will be building a library of information for ALL of you to use!
  • GBIG has connected with a number of industry groups on LinkedIn positioning Wisconsin as the place to do business in the 5P, Converting and Supporting industries.
  • GBIG is successfully linking business opportunities to our members and businesses!
  • GBIG networking opportunities has brought together a number of companies building better and stronger business relationships.
  • GBIG had a SELL OUT of members and golfers at our annual golf outing.
  • GBIG kicked off our first Printing Showcase and we will be expanding it to the 5P, Converting and Supporting Industries with affordable opportunities for Exhibitors and Attendees.
  • GBIG has put together a number of webinars, seminars and tours over 2022-2023. We will continue with some very exciting events for 2023-2024.
  • GBIG is in process of building a resource database of companies and their capabilities for business opportunities supporting our membership companies!

The Green Bay Innovation Group would like to wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

GBIG NEWS CORRUGATED DECEMBER 21, 2022

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Marty Ochs

Over a number of years, successful business executive and owner Marty Ochs recognized the impressive magnitude of the paper and paper-related industries in Green Bay. Even more than that, Ochs noted, Green Bay’s paper, packaging, printing, converting and support industries are advanced and thriving.  On the local, state and national level, the impact and innovation of Green Bay’s paper and related industries often seems to go unrecognized. Ochs grew up in Northeastern Wisconsin and began his career in the paper industry, so he felt determined to bring more recognition to the thriving paper field in Green Bay.

TRENDS AND UPDATES

  1. We are seeing E-commerce sales continue to grow and the consumer spending remaining strong supported by Christmas shopping. We anticipate after Christmas sales to continue through January and early February 2023.
  2. We are witnessing that box consumers are making progress working through elevated inventories.
  3. Amazon has received record-breaking sales over 5 days between Thanksgiving Day and Cyber Monday.
  4. We are seeing more Board Paper Products imported from Europe and China. We welcome Billerud with their plants in Michigan moving forward converting two paper machines and supported with a kraft pulp mill to produce high end board grades in 2025. Due to the current high demand for printing papers along with other paper mills shutting down graphic papers, it could slow down their conversation plans to meet demand of their current graphic paper customers.
  5. SAPPI will convert their coated free sheet paper to solid bleached sulfate with the project date in early 2025. The company plans to convert its Cloquet, MN mill to packaging and specialty grades.
  6. Packaging Corporation of America older plant is laying off a majority of its 400+ employees citing weaker demand for its products.

Quad Plus: New Line Cannot Run at Capacity.

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The purpose of acceptance testing is to evaluate new equipment following installation to ensure
it was built correctly and is operating according to specifications. When something goes wrong,
this process allows the new equipment owner to ensure that all problems are corrected before
the project is considered complete.

In many cases, a third party can help locate problems during acceptance testing, diagnosing
issues, and proposing or executing solutions.

Brand New Line Underperforming

man with tech equipment

A non-woven manufacturing facility recently upgraded its system to include new equipment for the entire line. The machines were still in the acceptance testing phase, and the facility was experiencing problems, primarily with system faults when attempting to operate the line at full capacity.

The facility utilized VFDs (variable frequency drives) in a three-roll calendar system configured to run in a speed-matching operation up to a thousand feet per minute. System faults presented consistently whenever the system reached about eight hundred feet per minute or faster. At lower operating speeds, intermittent faults were present on the calendar.

Troubleshooting the Problem

A third-party troubleshooting team was called out to the facility to diagnose the problem. They began with a systematic evaluation of the entire system, including the installation and the programming. Because the system was new, the team needed to verify that the equipment was installed correctly.

The team also ensured that the cabinet was designed well, that the Fieldbus was operating correctly, and that the motor leads were terminated properly using the correct motor cables. Next was evaluating the encoder feedback with instrumentation where switching noise in the encoder signal was detected.

Another issue discovered by the troubleshooting team was that the encoder was configured for unipolar operation. This wiring configuration is not the best method for heavy industrial applications. The team rewired the encoders to the optimal configuration, along with the rest of the system.

Once these problems were corrected, the non-woven manufacturing facility could operate its new line at a thousand feet per minute without additional complications.

Acceptance Testing & Troubleshooting

Brand-new equipment should deliver better, smoother operations. However, this is only possible when they’re working correctly. Acceptance testing is designed to reveal any problems with your new assemblies so they can be corrected immediately.

Should any issues be detected, it pays to enlist the help of qualified experts who can provide a systematic evaluation of your system to verify the installation and programming and correct any issues so you can enjoy the full benefits of your investment.

If you’d like additional information on how Quad Plus can help you with expert diagnoses and corrections, please reach out to Jim Woulf at (920) 515-4155 or via email at jwoulf@quadplus.com.

Box Latch Products shopping cart more than doubled over 25 days utilizing TikTok…a Wisconsin Success Story!

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Like us, you may never have considered TikTok as a marketing option. Our introduction to this platform occurred as a result of one person stopping at our table at the PackExpo Emerging Brands Summit on October 23, 2022 in Chicago’s McCormick Place.

A picture containing text, indoor, wall, office

A guy named Corry Connors asked to shoot a short video and post it to his 80,000 TikTok followers. We said, “Sure, why not?” Within days of its November 3 posting it went viral. It has now been seen by nearly 2 million viewers with 39.4k likes, 1,773 comments and 574 shares. Though not all sales could be linked to the TikTok video, purchases on our BoxLatch™ Products shopping cart more than doubled over the next 25 days.

As it turned out Cory also hosts a sustainable packaging website and does podcasts. The amazing success of the TikTok video prompted Cory to invite BoxLatch™ CEO, Jim Wilson, to do a podcast. It was posted on December 7. Wouldn’t you know it, the success of that has led to an invitation for Jim to apply for a position as a speaker at the AICC (Independent Packaging Association) Xperience Conference in 2023.

Everyone knows that marketing is kind of like fishing; you never know what the next super lure will be or where the big lunker is lurking. As a company who knew nothing about the effectiveness of TikTok as a B2C and B2B marketing platform, is it time companies like yours and ours learned more about it?

If you have had success, please let us know.

Jack & Jim Wilson and the BoxLatch™ Team

Pewaukee, WI jack@boxlatch.com, james@boxlatch.com 

2023 INDA Calendar of Events

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INDA logo
  • Elementary Nonwovens Training Course
    January 24-25, 2023
    INDA Headquarters
    Cary, NC
    T: +1 919 459 3724
    Email: registrar@inda.org
    inda.org/training
  • Intermediate Nonwovens Training Course
    February 7-10, 2023
    INDA Headquarters, Cary, NC &
    The Nonwovens Institute, NC State University
    Raleigh, NC
    T: +1 919 459 3724
    Email: registrar@inda.org
    inda.org/training
  • Introduction to Spunbond & Meltblown Technology
    February 28-March 3, 2023
    The Nonwovens Institute, NC State University
    Raleigh, NC
    T: +1 919 459 3724
    Email: registrar@inda.org
    inda.org/training
  • Elementary Nonwovens Training Course
    May 23-24, 2023
    INDA Headquarters
    Cary, NC
    T: +1 919 459 3724
    Email: registrar@inda.org
    inda.org/training
  • Absorbent Hygiene Training Course
    June 6-8, 2023
    INDA Headquarters
    Cary, NC
    T: +1 919 459 3724
    Email: registrar@inda.org
    inda.org/training
  • Nonwoven Product Development & Innovation
    June 20-23, 2023
    The Nonwovens Institute, NC State University
    Raleigh, NC
    T: +1 919 459 3724
    Email: registrar@inda.org
    inda.org/training
  • WIPES Academy
    July 17-18, 2023
    Atlanta Marriott Marquis
    Atlanta, GA
    T: +1 919 459 3724
    Email: registrar@inda.org
    inda.org/training
  • World of Wipes® (WOW) International Conference
    July 17-20, 2023
    Atlanta Marriott Marquis
    Atlanta, GA
    T: +1 919 459 3724
    Email: registrar@inda.org
    worldofwipes.org
  • Intermediate Nonwovens Training Course
    August 1-4, 2023
    INDA Headquarters, Cary, NC &
    The Nonwovens Institute, NC State University
    Raleigh, NC
    T: +1 919 459 3724
    Email: registrar@inda.org
    inda.org/training
  • Elementary Nonwovens Training Course
    August 22-23, 2023
    INDA Headquarters
    Cary, NC
    T: +1 919 459 3724
    Email: registrar@inda.org
    inda.org/training
  • Fiber & Filament Extrusion Fundamentals
    September 12-14, 2023
    The Nonwovens Institute, NC State University
    Raleigh, NC
    T: +1 919 459 3724
    Email: registrar@inda.org
    inda.org/training
  • RISE® (Research, Innovation & Science for Engineered Fabrics)
    September 26-27, 2023
    North Carolina State University
    Raleigh, NC
    T: +1 919 459 3724
    Email: registrar@inda.org
    riseconf.net
  • Filter Media Training Course
    October 10-11, 2023
    Navy Pier
    Chicago, IL
    T: +1 919 459 3724
    Email: registrar@inda.org
    inda.org/training
  • FiltXPO™ | International Filtration/Separation Exhibition & Technical Conference
    October 10-12, 2023
    Navy Pier
    Chicago, IL
    T: +1 919 459 3724
    Email: registrar@inda.org
    filtxpo.com
  • Intermediate Nonwovens Training Course
    October 24-27, 2023
    INDA Headquarters, Cary, NC &
    The Nonwovens Institute, NC State University
    Raleigh, NC
    T: +1 919 459 3724
    Email: registrar@inda.org
    inda.org/training
  • HYGIENIX™ | The Premier Event for Absorbent Hygiene & Personal Care Markets
    November 13-16, 2023
    The Roosevelt New Orleans
    New Orleans, LA
    T: +1 919 459 3724
    Email: registrar@inda.org
    hygienix.org
  • Fabric Property Development & Characterization
    December 5-8, 2023
    The Nonwovens Institute, NC State University
    Raleigh, NC
    T: +1 919 459 3724
    Email: registrar@inda.org
    inda.org/training
Green Bay Innovation Group

Bringing Green Bay Companies Together. Green Bay Innovation Group is committed to building an authentic networking experience where innovation can thrive.

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Contact Information

Phone: 608-698-3333 
martinpochs@gmail.com
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