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ZELLCHEMING-Expo 2025: Two Good Reasons to Celebrate and a Congress That Has its Finger on the Pulse

How Can Digitalization Help Corrugated Producers?

By adopting IT-based planning and IT-optimized production, corrugated producers can deal with supply challenges and improve their overall performance

SOFIDEL: The Making of a Tissue Industry Giant

Sofidel CEO Luigi Lazzareschi discusses the company's strategic expansion in global tissue manufacturing, highlighting significant growth in North American operations through recent acquisitions and capacity increases. The interview covers operational integration challenges, sustainability initiatives across multiple markets, and advanced manufacturing technologies including AI-driven quality control systems. For industry veterans, this comprehensive analysis demonstrates how traditional tissue manufacturing continues evolving through digital transformation, energy transition strategies, and market consolidation. Lazzareschi's insights into navigating regulatory uncertainties, maintaining product innovation standards, and scaling operations provide valuable perspectives for senior professionals tracking industry leadership and technological advancement in the global tissue sector.

Engagement Makes a Difference at Sofidel Shelby

It was ‘all talk, no action’ at this North Carolina mill—until a re-formed EHS Committee turned things around and earned this team the recognition it deserves.

Want to be Successful? Implement Systems and Seize Opportunities

How do you move from being a reactive to a proactive organization in maintenance and reliability?

Asia Symbol’s BM 13 Successfully Reaches Final Acceptance Just 11 Months After Start-Up

European Paper Sacks Reduce Carbon Footprint by 9% Between 2021 and 2024

European paper sacks have become significantly more climate-efficient: their carbon footprint per sack decreased by 9% between 2021 and 2024. This is the outcome of a recent study conducted by RISE on behalf of the European Paper Sack Research Group (ESG), a collaboration between EUROSAC and CEPI Eurokraft.

Case Study: Transforming Demand Planning for a Medium-Sized Tissue Manufacturer

A European tissue manufacturer transformed its demand planning operations through cloud-based S&OP platform implementation, achieving remarkable operational excellence. The comprehensive initiative addressed forecasting accuracy challenges across a diverse product portfolio and high promotional activity. Results included 20% improvement in forecast accuracy (from 57% to 72% at SKU level), 50% reduction in demand planning effort through automation, reduced inventory costs, and improved on-time delivery rates. This digital transformation demonstrates best practices for supply chain optimization in manufacturing, showcasing how modern planning technologies and collaborative processes drive sustainable competitive advantage and operational resilience.

Paper360°’s 2025 Power List

Paper360's 2025 Power List identifies 50 influential leaders, innovators, and technologies driving transformation across the pulp, paper, packaging, and tissue industry. The comprehensive ranking features C-suite executives from major companies like Smurfit WestRock, International Paper, and Suzano, alongside emerging young professionals and breakthrough supplier innovations. Key highlights include sustainable biomaterials development, advanced manufacturing technologies, and strategic industry partnerships that are reshaping operations and market dynamics. For mid-career professionals seeking advanced technical insights and leadership benchmarking, this annual analysis provides essential intelligence on industry direction, emerging opportunities, and the power players driving operational excellence and innovation across global markets.

Three-dimensional visualization and characterization of paper machine felts and their relationship to their properties and dewatering performance, TAPPI Journal July 2021

ABSTRACT: Polymeric felts are commonly used in the papermaking process on the paper machine wet end, in the press section, and in the dryer section. They provide an important function during paper manufacturing, including as a carrier or support; as a filter media assisting with water removal on the paper machine; in retention of fibers, fines, and fillers; and in some applications, such as tissue and towel, to impart key structural features to the web. These felts can have highly interwoven complex internal structures comprised of machine direction and cross-machine direction yarns of varying sizes and chemical compositions. Here, we present a non-intrusive three-dimensional (3D) image visualization method using advanced X-ray computed tomography (XRCT). This method was used to characterize the complex 3D felt structure and determine the water removal characteristics of some commonly used paper machine felts. The structural features analyzed include porosity; specific pore-yarn interfacial surface area; 3D pore size distribution; 3D fiber or yarn-size distribution; and their variations through the thickness direction. The top, middle, and bottom layers of the felt have very different structures to assist with water removal and impart paper properties. The size distribution of the yarns, as well as the pores in the different layers of the felt, are also inherently different. These structural features were non-intrusively quantified. In addition, variation in the structural characteristics through the thickness of the felts and its potential role in papermaking is explored. In addition to the 3D structural characteristics, permeability characteristics and water removal characteristics, including rewetting of select felt samples, have also been experimentally determined. It is interesting to observe the relationship between key structural features and permeability and water removal characteristics. These relationships can provide additional insights into press felt design, as well as ways to improve product properties and the dewatering efficiency and productivity of the paper machine.