Read the September 10th, 2025 Green Bay Innovation Group Newsletter here.
September 10th, 2025 Newsletter
Category: More Stories and Links
GBIG NEWS | 90 Stories and Links on the Internet 09/10/2025
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 90 Stories and Links on the Internet below.
Featured Stories
- Pixelle Specialty Solutions Appoints Julie Schertell as CEO
- SAPPI concludes $500 million expansion project at is Sommerset mill in Maine for board products
- The Great Lakes Region is unprepared.for increasing usage of water especially for data centers
- Kimberly-Clark to cuts capacity at Fox Crossing Cold Springs plant to Malaysia and Vietnam
- US paper and Cardboard recycling rates fell in 2024
- Variable Digital market is going to boom
- Trees for Tomorrow to offer nature programs for kids
- International Paper announces strategic changes
- Domtar in Wisconsin groundbreaking ceremony signals beginning Rothschild dam repairs
- Kimberly-Clark may move some production overseas ensures no job loss in Neenah
- Green Bay Packaging appoints Matt Szmanski as new Executive Vice President
- International Paper closes 4 facilities affecting 1,100 employees
- Kimberly-Clark names new president
- ProAmpac to acquire PAC Worldwide
China
- Shanghai ranking shake up China and Taiwan now have more universities in the top 500 then the USA due to cuts by the Federal Government
- American anti circumvention working group including a Wisconsin company requesting relief from Chinese circumventing through Cambodia & Malaysia
- China’s Pulp Boom and the Future of Global.Supply
- Chinese subsidies what the evidence suggests
- Subsidies to China’s Papers industry to become the world leader in paper production as USA production declines
- China’s paper industry provides unfair global advantage due to government subsidies
- China spends billions of dollars to subsidize favored companies
- Sustainability legislation drives packaging innovation for recycling
- China business development model evolution future
- China’s Pulp Boom and the Future of Global Supply
- Maga rages Trump allowing 600,000 Chinese students in the USA
- Human microbiome. scientist Wang Leyao leaves troubled US government agency returns to Chin
- China launches advanced plastics cracking plant
- Chinese ownership of US farmland is up 55% in the past 5 years.
- Stoughton Trailer and China
- China’s Kingsun to invest $80 million in first US manufacturing facility in North Carolina
- China’s manufacturing might, supply chains, and workforce development has let it dominate industries invented by the USA.
Education
- Many US Colleges may close without immigrants and international students
- UW Platteville recognized 2025-2026 college distinction
- UW Madison 7 challenges with reduced funds for research
- Great defection threatens to empty Universities of Top Teaching Talent
- UCLA researchers worry federal cuts will kill studies and cause brain cuts
- UW Green Bay software engineering a new generation of engineers
- Trump Science brain drain and scientists are packing their bags
- Big drop in arrival of foreign students in USA including 50% from India the USA brain drain
AI
- ai descends into disillusionment
- ai is eating change management
- ai already preparing for a world of agenic ai as tech professionals
- 92 million jobs disappearing by AI by 2030
- AI impact on the job market
- ai won’t transform your business but the right thinking will
- Chinabets ai will pump trillions into economy amid computing push
- Will ai really set a new standard for recyclers?
- ai return on investment $30 billion down the drain see no returns
- ai isn’t just replacing tasks it’s replacing the office manager and maybe even the mission
Sustainability
- Sustainability transforming business decisions
- Foodservice bag market growth due to sustainability through 2035
- How Amazon and Unilever embrace Sustainability to improve business
- Sustainability shake up when the world pulls back.
- Food Packaging Tester Market to reach USD $6.9 billion driven by Sustainability Trends
- Advancing Sustainability in the Pulp and paper industry
Sponsors
- Robinson earns Fab 40 ranking as leading contract manufacturer
- Zeta Group Engineering: Stainless steel hermes
- JP Morgan/Chase leads $100mm credit facility for innovation solutions
- EMT International expands visionaries event series with largest gathering to date.
- Paper Dimensions: Your leader in converting since 1972
- First Business Bank: How to balance retirement with philanthropic goals
- Bradyplus building a packaging epr task force
- Hybrid Software releases ic3d version update
- Zeta Group Engineering: Benefits of automating end of line palletizing
- JP Morgan Vision without borders
- Hurckman Mechanical; The Milwaukee Brewers unveils new mural in Green Bay
- ark data center in Green Bay
- Ingredion $50 million dollar expansion in Cedar Rapids
Join the GBIG for the Restoring Hope Gala on October 4, 2025, at the Weidner Center – UWGB for a Free Event Supporting the Green Bay Community
Join the Green Bay Innovation Group for a FREE EVENT for the Restoring Hope Gala St. John’s Ministries on October 4, 2025, starting at 5 p.m. The Green Bay Innovation Group purchases tables and donates to St. John’s Ministries supporting the Green Bay Community. The event raised $190,000 last year. If you want to join us, please email me with the names of the parties attending so we can provide you with names tags and confirm registration. It is an outstanding networking event bringing together Northeastern Wisconsin business leaders!
EVENT DETAILS
- 5:00 p.m. Reception in the main lobby
- 6:00 p.m. Dinner with two drink tickets and a gourmet 4-course meal.
All proceeds support St. John’s Ministries life-changing, community funded programs.
Click the button below for full details and to purchase tickets.
Marty Ochs
Executive Director
Green Bay Innovation Group
608-698-3333
martinpochs@gmail.com
A Letter From Marty: China’s Impact on the Packaging Industry in the USA
It is without question, China’s impact on the Paper and Pulp Industry from 2002 on becoming the top world manufacturer of paper. Wisconsin has lost over twenty paper and pulp companies, and we are witnessing more USA shutdowns of paper and pulp companies across the USA. In China, the government subsidies and loans have provided dedicated support for the paper & pulp industries expansion leading to enormous overcapacity with a meteoric increase in China’s exports. Yet, China has no competitive advantage in these capital-intensive industries and lacks the natural resources to fuel this growth importing the bulk of its materials. China sells at prices much lower than the United States or the European Union. The cost of labor is a small cost of the paper industry and pulp at about 35% of the production costs. China must transport their material and finished products across the global adding costs to their products!
The Chinese Government strategy is to target specific industries to dominate, control, and use other countries resources with Government incentives to increase their manufacturing capacity. From 2002 to 2009, billions of dollars in subsidies supported electricity, coal, loans, land, pulp, paper, and recycled paper.
The Chinese Paper Industry government owned companies have been able to finance the large investments in the Paper and Pulp Industries. USA companies do not invest billions with minimum returns on their investments. The overcapacity has led to low prices, low optimization of production unacceptable to USA Companies, with a strategy to export their products at unfair market pricing by driving companies out of business! Today, China has major stakes in USA and Canada Paper and Pulp companies. The Chinese Government strategy is the same with other key manufacturing industries to the USA and World! Simply, put USA and Worldwide companies out of Business!
We are witnessing the same strategy from China for the Packaging Industry in the USA. Recently, TedPack, a flexible packaging company from China, has acquired Fairview International’s operations and opened its first U.S. office in Wisconsin to better serve American customers. China’s Kingsun to invest $80 million in their First U.S. Manufacturing Facility in North Carolina. Kingsun is a Chinese manufacturer of biodegradable paper tableware, using wood pulp, and recycled cardboard impacting USA Manufacturers. Anticircumvention Working Group of the American Paper Plate Association requests relief – including retroactive duties from Chinese Circumventing products through Thailand and Vietnam. The Chinese companies began moving paper plates finishing operations to Cambodia and Malaysia to circumvent the AD and CVD duties arising from those investigations to gain unfair advantage in the marketplace. Simply, the Chinese companies skirting the rules and dumping their products at the expense of USA Companies. The principal manufacturers in the United States affected include AJM Packaging, Aspen Products, Dart Container, Hoffmaster Group, and Unique Industries, all of which are in the Great Lakes region.
CMD Corporation Enters Partnership with Hagihara
The partnership makes CMD the exclusive North American Sales, Service and Spare Parts Partner for CMD/Hagihara Web Converting Solutions
August 27, 2025 – (APPLETON, WI) – CMD Corporation, a leading manufacturer of capital equipment for the film converting and alternative energy markets, is proud to announce a strategic partnership with Hagihara Industries. This collaboration establishes CMD as the exclusive North American sales, service, and spare parts provider for Hagihara’s advanced slitting and rewinding machinery.
Hagihara Industries’ slitter rewinders are the top choice for converters seeking reliable, high-output performance with exceptional precision. Designed for speed, simplicity, and consistent roll quality, these systems deliver the results converters need to keep production running smoothly — and profitably.
The partnership brings together CMD’s deep expertise in customer support and technical service with Hagihara’s innovative web converting solutions, offering North American customers enhanced access to high-performance equipment and responsive local support.
“This partnership reflects our commitment to delivering world-class solutions and service to the flexible packaging industry,” said Scott Fuller, CMD Intermittent Motion Product Line Manager. “By joining forces with Hagihara, we’re expanding our capabilities and strengthening our position as a trusted partner for web converting technologies.”
This partnership is a perfect complement to CMD’s DAC Web Inspection System, creating a powerful synergy between precision converting and real-time quality assurance. Together, these technologies offer converters a fully integrated solution for high-performance slitting, rewinding, and defect detection enhancing productivity, reducing waste, and ensuring consistent product quality.
CMD Corporation and Hagihara Industries look forward to working together to provide exceptional web converting solutions to clients across North America. For more information about the CMD/Hagihara Web Converting Solutions or to inquire about our services, please contact:
Scott Fuller
CMD Intermittent Motion Product Line Manager
920-740-8728
Scott.fuller@cmd-corp.com
ABOUT CMD
CMD is a capital equipment manufacturer in the film converting and alternative energy markets. Built on a culture of integrity, we innovate unmatched profitable solutions for our customers and provide life long service and support to the markets we serve. CMD designs and manufactures high-performance equipment for the plastic converting industry, including pouch packaging converting systems and patented, high-speed rotary bag and film converting lines. Custom engineering, process validation and machine optimization services are part of a consultative approach to customer care. Remote service technology and advanced data analytics for preventive maintenance and proactive production efficiency are advanced services that set CMD apart from other OEMs. The company serves a global marketplace through a network of sales and service associates worldwide. Equipment is manufactured to exacting standards at USA facilities. More information is available at www.cmd-corp.com and www.cmdenergy.com
ABOUT Hagihara Industries:
We create machinery and equipment with a basic mentality in mind that they should be easy to handle yet able to bring high-cost performance. With our technological expertise which has been developed and cultivated over the years, we introduced our Slitter & Rewinder to the converting industry. In this way, we have been responsive to many kinds of requests from our customers. The origin of our energetic power comes from our customers’ needs and support. We are determined to provide uniquely engineered machinery and equipment with our distinguished expertise to ensure customer satisfaction. More information is available at https://en.hagihara-eng.com/
A Special GBIG Thanks to Sponsors, Members, and Exhibitors on October 9 in Recognition of 2025 Support
With Event Sponsor: Wintrust Bank
Plan to join for our Octoberfest at Stadium View Bar in Green Bay on October 9, to recognize and thank all our Sponsors, Members, and Exhibitors in 2025. We want to show our appreciation and recognize your support with this FREE EVENT! It is from 3:00–6:00 pm with FREE beer, beverages, and hors d’oeuvres served from 4:00–5:00.
- Go to: www.greenbayinnovationgroup.com/events. Easy sign-up!
Stadium View is right in the heart of Title Town! One block from Lambeau Field!
NEXT: MARK YOUR CALENDAR TO EXHIBIT OR ATTEND OUR POPULAR 5P SHOWCASE EVENT!
The 5P Showcase kicks off February 24, 2026, at the Oneida Center and Hotel in Green Bay.
The Oneida Hotel Convention Center offers many advantages:
- Proximity to Austin Straubel Airport, with free shuttle service
- Full-Service Hotel and Exhibit Halls, with coffee shop, bar & casino
- Cost to exhibit is $1000, and $50 to attend
- Speakers from 9:00-10:00 am and 1:00-2:00 pm with all-day exhibits
- Intro to exhibitors from 8:00-9:00 am, hosted by AJ Buran
- Go to: www.greenbayinnovationgroup.com/events – The Premier 5P Showcase Expo. Easy sign-up!
VPI, Inc.’s Tossing for Inclusion Raises $31,000 to Support Inclusive Community Programs
APPLETON, WI – VPI, Inc. is proud to announce that its third annual Tossing for Inclusion Bag Toss Tournament and Fundraiser raised an outstanding $31,000 in support of programs that create opportunities for individuals with disabilities and disadvantages. We thank Green Bay Innovation Group for their support!
The event, held on August 20, brought together around 200 community members, sponsors, and teams for a day of fun, friendly competition, and a shared commitment to building a more inclusive community.
“We are so grateful to everyone who participated, donated, and sponsored this year’s Tossing for Inclusion,” said Tim Riebau, VPI, Inc. president and CEO. “The energy and enthusiasm around this event show how much our community values inclusion and opportunity for all.”
Funds raised will directly support VPI’s mission to foster social, vocational, and economic independence for individuals with disabilities and disadvantages throughout the community.
VPI looks forward to welcoming the community back for the 4th Annual Tossing for Inclusion, scheduled
for Wednesday, August 19, 2026.
For more information about VPI, Inc. and its programs, visit vpiwi.org.
VPI’s mission is to promote the dignity and worth of individuals who have disabilities or are disadvantaged and to assist them in developing their optimum level of social, vocational, and economic independence in the community.
VPI, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, provides a variety of community programs and services including education, early intervention, employment, mental health, and social and recreational services, and packaging solutions to the Fox Cities and surrounding areas. By providing efficient contract packaging and production services to private industry with an integrated workforce, VPI has been able to deliver community programing and services to support the changing needs of community members with disabilities or disadvantages.
GBIG 2025-2026 Events
September 16, 2025, 7:30am – 4:30 pm
Discover the Future of Packaging: Specialty Papers, Printing, Converting, Coating, and Packaging.
Miron Construction 1471 McMahon Dr. Neenah, WI 54956
Cost: $100.00 – go to www.greenbayinnovationgroup.com events – Specialty Paper to register.
Sponsor – Chase
October 9, 2025, from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm
Octoberfest: Sponsorship, Members, and Exhibitor Recognition Night
Stadium View Bar & Restaurant – Top Floor 1963 Holmgren Way, Green Bay, WI
FREE hors d’oeuvres, beer, and music for all to enjoy.
Go to: www.greenbayinnovationgroup.com events to register for the FREE EVENT.
Sponsor – Wintrust
February 2026 February 24, 2026
The Premier 5P Showcase Expo
Cost: $50.00 to attend and $1,000 to Exhibit
Oneida Center & Hotel – Green Bay
Go to: www.greenbayinnovationgroup.com events to register.
April 16, 2026, from 9:00am to 3:00 pm followed by networking from 3:00 – 5:30 pm.
The Milwaukee City Tour visiting multi-facilities.
Sponsor – Big Systems
Free
Swing Big with GBIG
June 18, 2026
Mid Valley Golf Course
3850 Mid Valley Dr. De Pere, WI
$150.00 per golfer or $600 for a foursome
$300.00 Hole Sponsor
GBIG NEWS | 97 Stories and Links on the Internet 08/27/2025
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 97 Stories and Links on the Internet below.
Featured Stories
- Expansion investments capacity in the USA packaging industry
- Amcor considering to divest North American beverage business
- Dunnage packaging industry with Menasha Corporation as an American leader.
- UW Stout: Wisconsin researchers think 3D printers can revolutionize health care
- Femsa in merger of Bradyplus with Imperial Dade
- Barbara Koldos VP earns economic development certification
- Uline building large warehouse in CT.
- Layoff at LSC and closing at One Touchpoint
- Labelling market is booming worldwide with Wisconsin company as leaders.
- Kimberly-Clark reports best volume growth in five years
- Billerud investing in Escanaba and Quinnesec mills in Michigan
- Georgia-Pacific President and CEO announces retirement
- AI MIT and Duke chemists develop toughest plastics and cut down on plastic waste
- Global plastics crisis explained in 6 charts
- Billerud Advances upgrades in Escanaba and Quinnesec Michigan
- Amcor commitment to hiring and welcoming refugees
- Michigan State University Agricultural College faces layoffs after USAID cuts
- Shoppers to see higher prices from toilet paper to candy as businesses pass on tariff costs
Specialty Paper
- Ahlstrom launches flame resistant facer to enhance fire protection
- Barrier Coatings for packaging markets
- Barrier coated flexible paper packaging market size
- Barrier Coated paper market
- Storaenso guide book to barrier coatings
- Sustainable food packaging ProAmpac butter wrap
- Sustainability legislation drives packaging innovation for recycling
- BiOrgin Specialty paper revolutionary OGR paper for food packaging
Packaging
- Designing Custom Packaging: Key Factors to Consider
- The clean label movement in packaging
- How Dow drives sustainable packaging
- Digital Printing is making inroads in packaging
- Single use packaging market with a projected 6.1% cagr growth rate
- UW Stout Molded Fiber Association awards Students First Place for sustainable packaging solution.
- Why folding cartons are the natural next step for converters
- North America paperboard packaging market
- Paper-Packaging Board marketing USDA program terminated
- Bridging the discipline from labels to flexible packaging
Education
- UW Madison ranks 30th worldwide in our list. Wisconsin legislature need to support education
- The University of Utah could lose $100 million annually for critical research
- UW Green Bay adding Software Engineering
- Trump administration unfreeze billions in education due to public outcry.
- Trump administration cuts UCLA research funds
- UNC announces cuts to federal funding.
- Northwestern to eliminate more than 400 staff positions due financial press due to federal cuts
- The best US Colleges for high paying finance jobs
- Science funding freeze could set research back Harvard
- Harvard endowment could shrink as much as 40% from White House policies
- Trump threatens Harvard over patents worth hundreds of millions of dollars
- Scientists who fled the Nazis built the atomic bomb and lead the world in science. Is the USA going the same direction?
PFAS
- Environment groups, community advocates push for progress on pfas legislation
- This new catalyst destroys forever chemicals within just seconds
- New soybean fighter fighting foam chemical replaces plas from a Wisconsin based company
- Over 73 million people exposed to play in US drinking water
- PFAS UPDATE: States continue to be in the forefront on PFAS products
Plastic
- 27 million tons of nanoplastics discovered in the North Atlantic
- Plastics that melts into nature with no impact on the environment
- Teel Plastics: Medical plastics Extrusion market is booming rapidly
- Scientists unveils bioplastics that degrades at room temperature
- Why are global plastics treaty need to move beyond negotiations
- Can a global treaty solve the plastic problem?
- Microplastics are infiltrating your brain and what are the effects
- Plastics impact on health costs $1.5 trillion every year report warns
- Researchers developed game changing filter that can filter out microplastics
Sponsors
- The McClone Method: The insurance industry is broken
- Voorwood: The leader band Customizing Converting Equipment
- Adhesco Graphics De Pere appoints Chad Atkinson as Business Development Manager for North America
- Wintrust arranges $90 million in financing to Midwest based printing company
- Miron Construction becomes Platinum certified employee friendly workplace
- Fox Valley Wood Products Protecting your Product and Sustainability
- Primient supports sustainable agriculture ingredients
EHSTracks: On Track with EHSTracks®
Cost Savings Through Accuracy and Efficiency:
Is missing information during plan setup and/or routine inspections costing your company money?
With EHSTracks® dynamic question technology for SPCC, SWPPP, RCRA and LDAR, every critical inspection point detail is captured before you save or submit your work. Field technicians and inspectors are guided through detailed and dynamic questions, ensuring nothing is missed and compliance is achieved without worry—so every inspection meets regulatory requirements every single time.
Imagine a technician completes an initial site visit but due to missed questions, the engineer later discovers critical information is missing. As a result, someone must return to the facility, incurring additional travel expenses, lost productivity, and project delays. EHSTracks® ensures every required question is addressed upfront, eliminating costly return visits and streamlining compliance workflows.
Pair that with our integrated, real-time picture database—photos captured in the field upload instantly to the desktop application, ensuring documentation and communication is seamless and accessible to both the technician and the engineer/consultant or site personnel.
With EHSTracks®, complete more accurate plan setups and inspections in less time—no wasted trips, no missed data, and no second guesses. Real-time mapping, automated workflows, and intuitive prompts empower your team to focus on quality and compliance every time, boosting operational efficiency and delivering measurable savings from day one.
Feature Spotlight:
Real-Time Mapping, Saving Time and Money
With EHSTracks®, inspectors benefit from next-generation real-time mapping that transforms how inspection routes are navigated. Instead of relying on static checklists or outdated diagrams, every inspection point is displayed precisely within the facility layout, allowing even new team members to orient themselves immediately and move confidently from one checkpoint to the next. This hands-on visual guidance accelerates onboarding, empowers inspectors to work independently sooner, and ensures no compliance step is ever overlooked. As a result, organizations experience faster ramp-up for new personnel, increased inspection accuracy, and seamless accountability across the team—all supported by state-of-the-art mapping innovation.
