(Editor's note: The following article appeared in the September 22, 2013, issue of the Wisconsin-based Post-Crescent newspaper serving Appleton and Fox Cities.)

Research and development (R&D) is the key to success for any business provided the leadership is thinking strategically and wants to secure the future of their business by inventing and developing useful products.

Generally, when products are selling well, most R&D is directed toward evolutionary research resulting in incremental improvements in product lines. But when products are in trouble and competitors are winning, a business needs unique new products and processes that can be obtained through revolutionary research.

The paper industry is going through a drought period and drastically needs different products and processes for rejuvenation and continued survival. This can happen because the U.S. is blessed with inquisitive people capable of great things and historically eager to find new ways of producing suitable products for world markets.

WE MUST LEARN FROM NATURE
I strongly believe that Nature's laws combined with human ingenuity can, by design, lead to new and smarter products.

In 1998, Professor Shri Ramaswamy, Chairman, Paper Science & Engineering, University of Minnesota, invited me to discuss "Retooling to Meet the Future." In my presentation I had suggested that they should change the direction of their approach to include the use of Thinking Tools in Smart Research Laboratories, and teach students how to copy nature and develop useful new product lines. Later, after intensive internal review, Prof. Ramaswamy called to inform me that they were changing their name to Bio-engineering. Since then, I am told, they have been very successful in attracting top notch students.

In the October 2013 issue of FASTCOMPANY magazine (page 56), there is mention of "Nature as a Teacher." It describes how some product designers have taken lessons from nature's eons of natural selection. For example: sharkskin-inspired swimsuits, Caddisfly-inspired new medical adhesives able to stick to wet tissue, Magpie Lark-inspired vibration to quick-set concrete, and Pharaoh Ant-inspired pest control strategy to keep pests away from food entirely. In addition, studies exist on Chameleon-inspired camouflage techniques and, of course, bird-inspired airplane designs.

NATURE CAN ALSO HELP THE PAPER INDUSTRY
Paper industry scientists should follow and simulate how trees produce oxygen through photosynthesis and then learn to generate intermediate compounds before carbon dioxide is converted to oxygen and carbon to other tree components such a cellulose, lignin, and hemicelluloses.

To produce papers with specific properties, the use of specialty chemicals is a must. Paper composites impregnated and/or coated with made-to-order specialty chemicals, can impart synergistic properties to produce papers of choice for a particular use. These new products will make our lives less complicated.

Modification of cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin and the use of molecular biology and chemistry may have to be revived. Nanotechnology will be part of the paper converting and papermaking processes. For example, let nano-particles bring compaction and shine to coated paper surfaces without the glaze-developing pressing step. Also, convert lignin and hemicelluloses into specialty chemicals and pharmaceuticals and grow cellulose in vats.

Consumer products would be needed in the following areas of our lives: Food (microwave and preservation technologies), Housing (environmentally friendly), Clothing (general and health industry), Transportation (cars, planes, ships, etc.), Packaging (possibly made from light weight and biodegradable natural memory-materials), Security Papers, Hygiene (personal, animal, and industrial), and Communication (digital, sound and microwave).

Non-recyclable consumer products could be useful in places not yet foreseen. For example, wastepaper and diapers with super absorbents, could be buried in areas to extend moisture holding capacity of the arid soil for agricultural purposes.

I think in order to succeed in a highly competitive environment, one must have excellent R&D capabilities. We must let our consumers know how best to use advanced paper products and the benefits they offer. We must "advertise" sustainability of the paper industry especially through well managed forests. We must bring the "thinking quality" of our people up a notch and create a business environment to implement revolutionary ideas.

Hardev S. "Doug" Dugal is the former chief executive of Integrated Paper Services, Inc., Appleton, Wisconsin. He can be reached at: hsdugal@aol.com.