A new study conducted by Pira International – a worldwide authority on the packaging, paper and print industry supply chains – says the Internet and mobile computing-related technologies will have the strongest influence on the global pulp and paper industry until 2020.

Online news, tablet computing, e-commerce, e-books and digital archiving technologies are among the front-runners of the technologies most likely to impact the industry. Since people will be using less paper, the demand for bleached kraft pulp will decrease, the report says.

Keeping ahead of the curve in the pulp industry in light of these technologies is key to survival, says Pira’s senior Paper Consultant Graham Moore.

“The threat of declining demand means the opportunities offered by papermaking fibres beyond paper should be exploited,” he said. “Companies that choose to ignore such developments or are simply unable to muster the resources needed to explore them, have an uncertain future.”

One company who has recognized the need to adapt to a changing industry is Fortress Paper Ltd. The Vancouver-based specialty and security paper manufacturer purchased a shut down mill in Thurso, Quebec this spring and is in the process of converting the facilities to a specialized dissolving pulp plant.

Capitalizing on a struggling cotton industry and a global demand for alternatives, Fortress Paper’s new product is the key ingredient for the creation of rayon – a silk-like, breathable substance used by the textile industry for clothing.

This year alone, cotton output has faltered due to heavy rains in China, embargos in India and floods in Pakistan. Analysts report that the market for rayon in growing 10 per cent annually in some regions of Asia as a result.

Fortress Paper expects an output of nearly 200,000 tonnes of dissolving pulp per year.

SOURCE:Specialty Cellulose