Division Honors - Process Control

Congratulations to TAPPI's
2022 Process Control Division Award Winners

Division Leadership and Service Award
Dave Maddux
Valmet

David Maddux first joined the pulp and paper industry in 1990. He is currently a Regional Sales Manager with Valmet Automation.

David has worked for both paper companies and automation suppliers in the Pulp and Paper Industry throughout his career as a field engineer, project manager, process control engineer, business manager, and director of sales. He has a Bachelor of Science Degree from Bryan College.

David is a past chair for the Process Control Division. He is currently the Vice-Chair for the TAPPICON Steering Committee and will serve as the chair for the 2023 TAPPICON. David is a published author with TAPPI and first became a member in 2001. He is passionate about getting students and young professionals interested in the engineering and automation aspect of the Paper Industry. He had served as an engineering advisor board member of two local high schools and previously led the charge for the Young Professional agenda for the Process Control Division Council

 

Best Paper Award
Dave Burton
AstenJohnson

  • Graduated from Miami University ’77, bachelor in Applied Science w/major in paper tech
  • Over 25 years in technical and production management positions with Brunswick Pulp & Paper, Boise Cascade, Willamette Industries, Champion International and US Corrugated.
  • Worked with various grades - pulp, SBS board, freesheet, and recycled liner and medium.
  • Worked 5 years with suppliers to the industry like Valmet, Thermo Fibergen, and for the last 15 years with AstenJohnson.
  • Currently a member– AstenJohnson’s Papermaking Specialist Team.
  • Certified as a black belt in lean sigma
  • Water Removal Committee Past Chair, member of Couch Pit Fraternity

Forbes has published or presented over 50 papers in refereed journals and conferences; and has been awarded 13 patents. He is a member of TAPPI and IEEE; and is a Professional Engineer in the Province of British Columbia. During his past 10 years of TAPPI involvement, he has been a frequent presenter and co-author of papers at PaperCon, served for 4 years as the Process Control Division Technical Program Chair, participated in several common interest groups, and co-authored a TAPPI Journal article.

 

Outgoing Chair
Dave Worzalla
International Paper

Dave Worzalla is a senior process control engineer at International Paper’s Georgetown, SC facility focusing on variability reduction projects, controls optimization, DCS configuration and IT infrastructure projects. He holds a degree in Computer Science and has spent most of his career with paper machine controls and measurement technology.

Dave served TAPPI’s Process Control Division as secretary, vice-chair and chair and has also served as session chair for the Process Control Division tracks at Papercon and TAPPICon conferences. After more than 40 years in the pulp and paper industry, Dave will be retiring at the end of the year with his wife, Karen, in Pawleys Island, SC. He will continue to serve TAPPI as the Process Control Division Awards Chair.


Technical Award
Kevin VanPemrook
Valmet

Kevin is a Solution Manager at Valmet where he has been employed since 1996. He has worked in the pulp and paper industry for the past 34 years.

Although Kevin has spent the majority of his career at Valmet, the first 8 years were spent working as a specialty starch supplier where he excelled in wet-end chemistry and alkaline conversions of fine paper machines. That experience prompted Valmet to recruit Kevin in 1996 to manage their wet-end analyzers, where he began his work with advanced wet-end and stock prep measurements and controls.

Kevin has authored many papers published by TAPPI and PAPTAC over the years and is considered a subject matter expert by his peers.

 

Professional of the Year
Phil Hinchcliffe
Domtar

Phil Hinchcliffe is a Sr. Operations Engineer for Domtar Paper’s Hawesville, KY Mill. He joined the Hawesville Mill upon graduation from the University of Louisville, where he received a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering in 1991. Phil has 31 years of engineering experience in Industrial Automation – remarkably all at the same facility.

“The standardization of equipment has allowed us to develop long term strategic relationships with our suppliers and vendors. I am fortunate to have been given the opportunity to work with the finest professionals that our industry has to offer. There is no question that a company’s greatest assets are its people. Our greatest challenge is to develop reliable systems that present the right information to the right person at the right time – enabling our Operators to transform data into insight.”

Phil’s goals align perfectly with TAPPI’s vision to help its members elevate their performance by providing solutions that lead to better, faster and more cost-effective ways of doing business.