Displaying items by tag: papermaking

Georgia-Pacific announced that it intends to make significant investments, which could total more than $500 million, in an advanced, proprietary tissue-papermaking technology. The company expects this and subsequent investments to further strengthen its commitment to being the leader in tissue, towel and tabletop products.

The company said it has approved funding for final engineering for two paper machines incorporating the technology. These two paper machines and associated converting equipment will manufacture premium tissue products for the consumer market. Pending final site selection, start-up is expected for 2012.

“We have seen growth in the premium segments of the bath tissue category, largely driven by the award-winning, successful introduction of our three-ply Quilted Northern Ultra Plush® product in 2008,” said Kathy Walters, executive vice president of Georgia-Pacific’s global consumer products business. “This new investment further reflects our commitment to being an innovation leader to drive further growth in this important segment.

“The advanced technology meets consumers’ demanding needs for premium qualities in tissue products - including softness and absorbency - while reducing combinations of fiber use, energy use or water use versus alternative papermaking processes,” said Walters.

Added Jim Hannan, chief executive officer and president, “This significant investment should be a clear indication to our customers of Georgia-Pacific’s focus on growing our global consumer products business. It also demonstrates our commitment to the global competitiveness of our skilled employees, to our asset base and to the communities where we operate.”

Headquartered at Atlanta, Georgia-Pacific is one of the world’s leading manufacturers and marketers of building products, tissue, packaging, paper, cellulose and related chemicals. The company employs more than 40,000 people at approximately 300 locations in North America, South America and Europe. Georgia-Pacific creates long-term value by using resources efficiently to provide innovative products and solutions that meet the needs of customers and society, while operating in a manner that is environmentally and socially responsible and economically sound. The familiar consumer tissue brands of Georgia-Pacific Consumer Products LP include Quilted Northern®, Angel Soft®, Brawny®, Sparkle®, Mardi Gras®, and Vanity Fair®. Dixie Consumer Products LLC, a Georgia-Pacific company, manufactures the Dixie® brand of tabletop products. For more information, visit www.gp.com.

Media Contact:
James Malone 001 (404) 652-6031

Ron Eklund has joined Klass Associates Inc. as a Senior Associate. Ron specializes in barrier coatings, papermaking process, wet end systems, metering size presses, pigmented coating, calendering, product development, printing, capital projects and paper machine start-ups.

He has over four decades of experience with Weyerhaeuser in R&D and technical positions. Ron has been a TAPPI Member for over 30 years and is very active in the Coating & Graphic Arts Division.

For more info contact:

Charles P.Klass

Tel: 001 (727) 395-9435

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

TAPPI's most prestigious annual award will this year go to Richard J. Kerekes, PhD, Professor Emeritus with the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.

Kerekes will receive the 2010 TAPPI Gunnar Nicholson Gold Medal Award at a ceremony on May 4, during PaperCon.
"Dr. Kerekes' contributions to research, technology, and education for our industry over a 38-year period are exemplary and make him a deserving recipient for TAPPI's highest honour," says Larry N. Montague, president of TAPPI. "He has made numerous significant contributions to papermaking technology during his career, including founding the Pulp and Paper Centre at the University of British Columbia where he established a research program between UBC and Paprican."

"To a remarkable degree, he has contributed to most all of the unit operations in papermaking, from stock chests to calenders," said Gary A. Baum, 2009 Gunnar Nicholson Gold Medal Winner, who nominated Dr. Kerekes for the award. "His research has been characterized by a blend of solid science and the application of fundamental principles to the solution of practical problems."

Kerekes spent the bulk of his career with Paprican, the Pulp and Paper Research Institute of Canada, now known as FPInnovations, serving from 1971-2001. He was named honorary professor at the University of British Columbia in 1978, a position he held until 2001, when he was appointed full professor upon his retirement from Paprican. He served as the director of the Pulp and Paper Centre at the University of British Columbia from 1983 until 2005, when he retired from UBC.

Dr. Kerekes has made outstanding contributions in education. As the first Paprican person to relocate to Western Canada in 1978, he was charged with building a program with the University of British Columbia. While there he founded the $6-million Pulp and Paper Centre; orchestrated a research program between UBC and Paprican; co-led establishment of a Pulp and Paper Master of Engineering Program; and founded an Advanced Papermaking Initiative in 1998 based on a $8.5-million endowment from the Province of British Columbia.

Kerekes graduated from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Applied Science and Master of Applied Science in Mechanical Engineering. He earned his PhD in Chemical Engineering from McGill University. He is a long-time member of TAPPI and PAPTAC. He is currently a Fellow in TAPPI, the Canadian Academy of Engineering, the International Academy of Wood Science, and the Chemical Institute of Canada.

TAPPI is an association for the worldwide pulp, paper, packaging, and converting industries and publisher of Paper360° and TAPPI JOURNAL.