Davis Kuelthau will present
“Are Your Employees a Threat to Your Intellectual Property,” on May 4 from 8-10am at The Marq, 3177 French Road, De Pere. Seating is limited for this complimentary program.
Davis Kuelthau Presentation
Category: General
Wisconsin Paper Industry – The End of an Era and What Can Be Done to Rebuild it!
Unrecognized Success
The Green Bay Innovation Group will be putting together an informal meeting to discuss the current paper situation to get a better understanding of the present and future of Paper Making in Wisconsin. If you are interested in participating, please contact me at: 608-698-3333 cell or email me at: martinpochs@gmail.com.
The Wisconsin Paper Industry over the past few years has changed dramatically and it will have major impact on the 5P, Converting and Supporting Industries. See China below!
- The Flambeau Paper Mill confirmed to me they no longer have any power to run the plant with the power being sold to another business! Simply, the three paper machines will probably be sold to foreign nations and we will have to import paper from them. The paper produced at the former Flambeau mill is currently on allotments with 8-10 weeks or longer lead times. Wisconsin has a large number of printers, envelope companies and converters in desperate need of uncoated offset papers that were produced at the mill! Guangdong Paper in XinHui, China is putting in a new high capacity fine paper making line to produce top-quality woodfree uncoated paper grades with the start up scheduled for 2022 with 2 million tons of pulp and 1 million tons of fine paper. China will be exporting the paper to the USA to the largest Printing and Converting companies in the USA! * Note: China has also purchased large printing presses from a Wisconsin based printing company along with increasing their pulp imports from Russia!
- Georgia-Pacific has shut down the its 121-year old Day Street Mill moving production of toilet paper, napkins and other paper products to other locations. The move will eliminate nearly 200 jobs and it is expected that employees with be able to get jobs at the Broadway Mill. Green Bay wants to thank GB for their other expansion plans in Green Bay with their new distribution center. Why can’t we get GB to build a new paper machine at the Day Street Mill instead of building plants in other states? China has expanded their tissue mills and they will be exporting products across the globe including the USA!
- Verso Corporation acquired by BillerudKorsnas based in Sweden with the Wisconsin Rapids mill future uncertain. The mill was a premier producer of commercial coated printing paper products in desperate need at this time with allotments and long lead times! Based upon discussions with a number of parties, the cost to get the mill back up in running is prohibitive. At some point, We expect it to end up selling the machines overseas or for scrap! Don’t be surprised if China buys it! We need to open up dialog with BillerudKosnas to look at potential opportunities to support the 5P Industries!
- ND Paper, the Biron Wisconsin mill will be converting its B26 paper machine at the end of 2022 from coated mechanical papers to lightweight recycled packaging paper products. The industry will lose 260,000 tons annually for end users like catalogs, magazines, inserts and other printed products. Wisconsin has a number of Publication and Catalog printers and they are desperate for printing papers and it will force a number of them out of business!
- Clearwater Paper closed the Neenah facility with approximately 300 people losing their jobs!
- Blackstone Tactical Opportunities acquires Sustana Fiber a De Pere, WI based company.
- Midwest Paper Group in Combined Locks sold to a Mexican-based company producing packaging grade papers.
- Appleton-based Appvion purchased by Wynnchurch L.P. a private equity firm which is based in Rosemont, Ill.
- Georgia-based Neenah Paper announced it plans to cease operations at its mill in Appleton.
- ST. Paper LLC: Andritz to supply high-speed tissue machine to St. Paper in Duluth, MN.
We see Paper Machines being built outside of Wisconsin and around the world. We are becoming more dependent on foreign paper companies especially for printing, labeling and converting papers. We will see more and more tissue products being manufactured outside the USA. Wisconsin was the leader in the world in paper production and innovation. Wisconsin is losing new facilities to other states and we ask why! Wisconsin has ALL the advantages to rebuild our paper industry with vast resources to support the industry. We need more leadership, financial resources, direction and a commitment to re-build the paper industry in Wisconsin with bipartisanship support! If not, our forestry, pulp, printing, converting and ALL of the industries supporting the paper industry will be in serious trouble and having a major impact on the Wisconsin economy!
Teel Plastics, LLC Awarded Plastics News Excellence Award for Customer Relations
Teel Plastics, LLC Awarded
Teel was honored as one of the the top two finalists for the Plastics News Processor of the Year Award in addition to receiving recognition for outstanding customer service.
For Immediate Release.
March 25, 2022
Earlier this year, Teel Plastics was named one of the five finalists for the Plastics News Processor of the Year Award, a top recognition of excellence in the plastics manufacturing industry. Applying for the award is a rigorous process involving written submission and in-person evaluation and interviews. Over the course of the evaluation, Teel Plastics was featured in a video on the Plastics News website as one of the five finalists.
The winner of the award was named at the Plastics News Executive Forum on March 23rd in Naples, Florida. As the finalists were counted down, Teel was among the top two contenders for the award before it was given to MMI Engineered Solutions of Michigan.
Teel was further recognized with the Plastics News Excellence Award for customer relations, a testament to Teel’s strength in customer service and relationship building. Teel’s customer relations were evaluated as judges reached out to Teel customers to discuss and evaluate Teel’s performance.
Teel’s president, Tom Thompson, also participated in a panel discussion at the Executive Forum with executives from the other four Processor of the Year finalists.
“We are very proud of what this award says about our people and the efforts they put into meeting customer needs,” said Christian Herrild. “We are willing to take on difficult problems and challenges to support our customers and help them achieve their goals.”
About Teel Plastics:
Teel Plastics is a premier manufacturer of custom extruded and injection molded plastic products due to the expertise of their distinguished, skilled team – a group of problem solvers known for being professional, progressive, and personable. Specializing in complex projects, Teel produces high-quality custom parts in a wide variety of sizes with tight tolerances.
Teel focuses on the medical, cosmetic, industrial piping, film core, and water treatment markets. In addition, there is a full-service analytical laboratory on campus. Founded in 1951, Teel is headquartered in Baraboo, WI. For more information, visit www.teel.com.
Bretting Manufacturing Co. – 400 MPM Singlefold Towel Interfolding Line
Press Release 7-March-2022 Ashland, Wisconsin –
C. G. Bretting Manufacturing is pleased to announce the launch of our 400 MPM Singlefold Towel Interfolder, a new high-speed, interfolding line.
The new Singlefold Towel Interfolder provides the highest towel production capability on the market today. This new platform is the result of years of research and development in mechanical folding and separation technologies.
The 400 MPM Singlefold follows a long legacy of quality machinery from Bretting, including Multifold and Tissue along with a wide array of napkin folders for both At-home and Away-from-home markets.
Let the Bretting expertise and innovation work for you. Please contact us to learn more about our latest Towel Singlefold line and how it can make your operations more productive.
C. G. Bretting Manufacturing Co., Inc. (“Bretting”) is a 132-year-old, fifth generation family-owned business located in Ashland, Wisconsin with 280,000 square feet of manufacturing and office space. Bretting is a world leader in the design, manufacture, and service of paper converting equipment along with contract machining. Absolut Manufacturing, LLC, located in Iron River, Wisconsin, is where we design, manufacture, and service nonwoven and paper bag converting equipment. We recently added a new 30,000 square foot building which includes office, manufacturing, and assembly space. T&T Manufacturing, LLC in Spooner, Wisconsin, another Bretting Company, provides high-quality machining and fabrication services.
C. G. Bretting Manufacturing Co., Inc. (“Bretting”) is a 132-year-old, fifth generation family-owned business located in Ashland, Wisconsin with 280,000 square feet of manufacturing and office space. Bretting is a world leader in the design, manufacture, and service of paper converting equipment along with contract machining. Absolut Manufacturing, LLC, located in Iron River, Wisconsin, is where we design, manufacture, and service nonwoven and paper bag converting equipment. We recently added a new 30,000 square foot building which includes office, manufacturing, and assembly space. T&T Manufacturing, LLC in Spooner, Wisconsin, another Bretting Company, provides high-quality machining and fabrication services.
Press Release: ASI HOSTS TOUR & NETWORKING EVENT, MARCH 2022
Networking Event
ASI, Division of Thermal Technologies, Inc., hosted a company tour and networking event at their facility on March 24, 2022. Located in the I43 Industrial Park in Green Bay, ASI showed off multiple drying systems they are currently working on that are used in a multitude of industries, including the battery, construction, and vinyl graphics and coating industries. More than twenty companies participated in the tour, which included a viewing of ASI’s assembly and fabrication floor, dress out area, as well as discussions on their dryers’ features and capabilities, including how they build all of their own electrical cabinets. The attendees also learned about ASI’s nearly 40 year long history, company culture, and their experienced engineers and manufacturing team, many of whom have been at ASI for more than 20 years.
ASI thanks everyone who participated in and attended this event and looks forward to hosting and attending similar events in the future.
ASI_Inquiries@asitti.com
920.468.5477 www.asitti.com
About ASI
ASI specializes in custom drying, curing, and cooling solutions for the converting and continuous process industries. We design and manufacture all of our custom drying solutions in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and serve all facets of the flexible web-based and continuous processing industries.
As an industry leader for over 36 years, our forced air convection systems employ a variety of web transport methods, including air flotation, roll-support, and through-air conveyor and belt dryers. All of our dryers are custom designed to meet the specific drying needs, control requirements, and spatial constraints of our customers.
We also have a dedicated service department that can assist with preventive maintenance visits, troubleshooting, spare parts, installation supervision, system startup, operator and maintenance training, and control upgrades and retrofits.
GBIG NEWS | 72 Stories and Links on the Internet 03/23/22
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 72 Stories and Links on the Internet below.
Wisconsin
- Georgia-Pacific to shut down the Green Bay facility, impacting nearly 200 jobs
- Converters Expo April 26-27 Lambeau Field
- Sun Graphics 5th Color is breaking ground on a new $5.5 million dollar headquarters in Wisconsin
- Missy Hughes: The Labor Shortage & The 5 Things We Must Do To Attract & Retain Great Talent
- Green Bay Innovation Group updated website
- Green Bay Chamber: Banks at helm of co-working space for entrepreneurs – Lamarr Banks
- 17th Florence Sustainability Forestry Conference
- Launch Prototype Program: Label, Carton and Flexible packaging prototypes – belmark
- Arandell Paper Update
- American Packaging Corporation was recently named “Best of the Best Workplace” by Industry Source Printing United Alliance.
- Glenroy to boost sustainable flex-pack converting capacity with new Nordmeccanica laminator
- US Dairy Industry Quietly Leads the Way Toward Sustainability
- UW Platteville – Dr. Jodi Prosie Professor earned her PhD. in Biomedical Engineering
- Projects benefiting Great Lakes region receive multi-million dollar boost from infrastructure law
- Wisconsin to receive $850M in federal funding to improve and support clean drinking water
- Ahlstrom-Munksjo begins new $70 million dollar investment.
Industry
- Total U.S. Printing-Writing Paper Shipments Increased 2% in February and 7% in January.. The Industry needs more!
- Labeling association representatives are warning disaster is looming for the paper packaging industry.
- The Target Report: Printing Papers Get Squeezed out with a major impact on Wisconsin printers.
- Verso’s shareholders have approved BillerudKorsnas acquisition of Verso
- Amplify brings print finishing and embellishments to the forefront.
- European mill strikes: Trade unions bite back at UPM’s Unreasonable demands as Paper’s perfect storm grown
- Mass Energy to build $25M power plant at Wisconsin landfill
- Shock and Awe in Production Numbers in the tissue industry!
- Why Brand Credibility and Package Design Are So Important
- Colgate Launches its Groundbreaking Recyclable Toothpaste Tube with “Recycle Me.”
- Containerboard Sector Reaches Record Production in 2021 – What’s next?
- Pulp & Paper Industry Kicks off 2022 with Major Sustainability Developments
- Ken Pavett – Flexografix: Benefits of Expanded Color Gamut Printing Highlighted from New Video from Hamillroad
- Packaging Shortages to Impact Food Manufacturers Into 2022
- Sustainability in packaging: Global regulatory development across 30 countries
- Neenah Sets Record for Fourth Quarter Revenues
- How To Use A Brand Ambassador Program & How To Choose A Company
- Digital Printing excels as pandemic labor shortages and market fluctuations usher in a new age
- 2022 Book Printing Market Outlook: Positivity, But Challenges Persist especially with Paper Availability!
- Walmart Tries RFID Again
- Plastics production is skyrocketing. A new U.N. treaty effort could cap it.
- Sleeve Labels Market To Grow Exponentially in Emerging Growth to reach $18.6 billion.
- Pulp and Paper Industry’s Adoption of Digital Technologies Will Be Worth US $3.6 Billion
- Packaging’s rise within-ecommerce
Member
- PCMC NEW MANAGEMENT LEADERSHIP TEAM
- elevate97: Green Bay Company Sells t-Shirts to Support the Women of Ukraine.
- FBB: Attracting and Retaining Employees In Today’s Talent Market
- Engraving Solutions Korber
- Robinson, Inc. 500,000 square feet of manufacturing space – Take a Tour!
- AdvancedTek: Is Additive Manufacturing an Accurate Term for 3D Printing? It is Now!
- Why Go Flexible: 5 Advantages of Flexible Packaging
- FBB: Advocating For Others As A Woman In Leadership
- MWES: Seamless Integration for Your Web Handling Needs
- pixelle: We’re Committed to American Manufacturing
- Dura-fibre: Your Tier Sheets Questions, Answered
- Miron: Apprenticeship program allows De Sota grad to jumpstart his career
Converters
- 3 Challenges That May be Eroding Profits in Your Label Converting Business
- 4 Key Strategies to Differentiate Your Label Converting Business
- Green Bay Converting: Experts in Towel, Tissue & Wiper Converting
- Alpha-Prime, Inc. is a customer-focused paper converter.
- Contract Converting: Precision Roll, Slitting & Rewinding
- Resource One: Put your paper and converting in the hands of Resource One, Int.
Russia
- Russia: War disrupts forestry markets
- Russia: Paper paralyze operations and delivery between Russia and Ukraine.
- Russia supplies roughly 10% of hardwood plywood in the U.S. market
- War disrupts forestry markets with Russia a major forestry exporter
- Sylvamo May Curtail or Temporarily Shut Down Production at Svetogorsk Mill in Russia producing uncoated free sheets in high demand in the United States!
- UPM to Cease Its Deliveries to Russia
- How the war in Urkraine is affecting the pulp and paper industry in Europe
- Packaging industry faces “catastrophic” blows as Russia threatens to block oil and gas exports
Women in Business & Manufacturing – Part 2
A Round Table Overview for GBIG
Hosted by Susan Stansbury, Industry Consultant
Part 2:
Hosted by Susan Stansbury, Industry Consultant
Ann Franz, Director, NEW Manufacturing Alliance
Kristin Manteufel, Director of Marketing, Resource One
Amber Schuh, Vice President, Press Color Inc.
Susan: What are some of the key issues you are seeing in 2022?
Ann Franz: As we promote the manufacturing industry, we are focused on employment, and this year, preparing people to rise to higher levels in business. We have heard that many are “data rich, but information poor.” Working with St. Norbert since 2019, more than 200 professionals improved their data analytical skills; and since then, many more have improved their skills, become more efficient and wise in their work.
Kristin Manteufel: We have been looking forward to coming out of Covid restrictions and seeing optimism in the markets. We have been seeing bids and projects that were on hold being revived. However, there continue to be hurdles such as delayed receipt of raw materials needed to manufacture our products. There are still a lot of unknowns for manufacturers such as staffing shortages, materials on allocation and some force majeure. Once these difficulties can be overcome, shipping becomes an issue with labor shortages and weather events affecting large sections of the US.
Amber Schuh: As an ink and coating manufacturer, the largest issue for 2022 is the uncertainly in the supply chain for raw materials. Constant communication with our vendors is essential for trying to reduce disruptions to our customers. The printing industry continues to see growth in flexible packaging and food packaging markets. Additionally, the market continues to look for advancement in the overall safety and environmental sustainability in the products they purchase.
Susan: Ann, what is the latest you offer to your 200 manufacturing members?
Ann: For middle management people, and others, we plan to offer project management training. In addition, we have female high school students on our radar. This includes a range of females, from STEM students to those in various club activities.
Susan: Kristin, what are some of the holdups in obtaining raw materials?
Kristin: In the paper industry, there have been mill conversions and shutdowns that have influenced what is made, the amount and types of papers being manufactured. These changes a have affected the sourcing of where our printing paper come from for wallpaper and gift-wrap at our Waldan division. Therefore, we have to be smart at sourcing and not have single sourced materials.
Susan: Amber, with your PhD in biochemistry, what are some of the developments you are pursuing?
Amber: Although my day-to-day tasks have taken me a bit away from the biochemical pathways my dissertation was on, I continue to use my Ph.D. experience for experimental design in our research and development pursuits. We tailor our inks and coatings for each individual customer to optimize performance on their specific equipment. Whether that is meeting a customer’s end use resistance requirements, CoF specifications, desired gloss, or a variety of other parameters our lab works one-on-one with our customers for optimization of their inks and coatings. Markets ranging from retail packaging and printing support, to business-to-business supplies, continue to be a focus among Northeast Wisconsin manufacturers.
Look for Part 3 next, featuring three more women with the spotlight on the converting industry.
Rebuild the Wisconsin Paper, Pulp and Forestry Industries
The war created by Russia in Ukraine has created huge issues with the Paper and Pulp Industries in Europe. Russia is a major exporter of oil, natural gas, minerals, pulp, paper and linerboard to Europe. Russia exports of paper, paperboard and pulp were US $2.41 billion during 2020, according to the United Nations. BIV reports that Russia exported $12 billion worth of lumber, logs, pulp, paper and wood pellets in 2021. The volume of packaging paper and paperboard exports from Russia reached 1.35 million metric tons in 2019 with expectations to grow 37.4 percent. Russia exported 2.316 million tons of pulp in 2022.
China had shifted its purchase of pulp to Europe, reducing imports from Russia and the USA over the past 3 years. However, we anticipate that China will go back to Russia due to the sanctions and price concessions. In addition, anticipate China will be purchasing rights to timber resources in Russia. As we see more sanctions, companies in the paper, pulp and related industries will no longer do business with Russia. We see a number of them already pulling out of Russia.
Wisconsin has a great opportunity with the embargo on Russia to supply Europe who is in desperate need of resources for pulp, paper and packaging materials, along with increasing the USA production to support America! Russia usually sends some 180,000-200,000 tons of kraftliner to Europe each year. Ukraine is a big exporter of kraftliner to Europe. Russia accounts for roughly 4% of global pulp exports.
With the strike at UPM, the US market is in desperate need for fine printing paper resources, and we will see less and less paper coming from Europe. The projections for printing papers are to decrease 1-2% over the year. However, that is not the case for 2022. We have seen a lot of demand for printing and packaging papers! With NO PAPER or LIMITED PAPER from Europe, this creates a large market for the USA-based paper manufacturers to support the fine printing paper production.
The USA companies have increased the production of board which could supply the USA and the world market. Wisconsin has a large number of companies in the board and corrugated industries! These are questions for the US-based paper companies to use the Wisconsin resources to rebuild our pulp and paper industries. Obviously, Green Bay Packaging has been a great asset for Wisconsin, setting a great example!
The Green Bay Innovation Group has had some success with finding paper for the printing industry and/or coming up with some alternative solutions. We are building a library of resources to support you. We would like to set up a meeting and invite ALL parties to better understand the impact of paper on the 5P and Converting Industries! The Paper Industry is the backbone of our industries and at this time, it is BROKEN! If you are interested, please send me an email to:
martinpochs@gmail.com or text to: 608-698-3333. We welcome your feedback, too!
Print Pro – Flexographic Printing Capabilities
Print Pro prides itself on exceptional customer service and turnaround time from order entry to delivery.
To continue meeting and exceeding customers needs, we’ve invested in equipment, facilities, and personnel.
Baum Machine – Custom Replacement Secondary Arms for a Paperboard Mill
A Wisconsin paperboard mill had experienced a failure of the Secondary Arms on the reel section. This is where the paper sheet is wound onto a spool that is driven from a reel drum. Continuous production requires that spool changes can occur “on the fly”.
The problem was that the portion of the secondary arm that supports a cam follower broke off. An emergency welding repair had to be made. Unfortunately, the resulting downtime was costly due to lost production hours. Additionally, it was unclear how long the repair would endure before it would fail.
One challenge to the mill was that it had difficulty sourcing a replacement part in a reasonable amount of time. The age of the machine played a factor as well. After contacting Baum Machine and inspecting the reel section, it was determined that they could manufacture new Secondary Arms to meet the customer’s requirements.
On a scheduled down, Baum’s engineering team visited the mill to take measurements for reverse engineering. Since the parts were on the machine, a few critical bore dimensions could not be recorded.
However, it could be possible once they were removed from the machine, but that would lead to more costly downtime for the mill. That problem was solved by proposing to manufacture complete less the critical bores. When the mill had their scheduled down, the parts would be removed and brought to Baum Machine, dimensions recorded, bores completed, and the new Secondary Arms returned to the mill for installation on the same day.
The mill operators were pleased to learn that the new Secondary Arms could be replaced during the course of the scheduled machine down, eliminating unnecessary downtime. Also, the new Arms were made from steel, not a casting, and modified for additional strength.
• Custom replacement part
• Cost-effective solution
• Steel construction
• Longer service life
• Made in the USA
