Ted Wegner

Over the three plus decades that I have been associated with the industry, I have seen great improvements in productivity. There have been numerous technological developments -- too many to even mention all of them. For example there has been widespread application of digital control in all aspects of processing that among many other things has allowed us to successfully control the use of oxygen in bleaching allowing us to eliminate the use of elemental chlorine. Advances in instrumentation have

allowed us to dynamically measure on-machine sheet properties. We have gone to twin wire forming to reduce sheet two-sidedness; improved dewatering by using shoe/extended nip presses; made great improvements in machine fabrics in forming and pressing; seen great improvements in calendaring technology; and overcame formidable contaminant removal problems (e.g. pressure sensitive adhesives) in using post-consumer recovered paper and paperboard. Most recently we are moving into the area of producing and using cellulosic nanomaterials and advancing the technologies and know how that supports the forest Biorefinery concept. Being a researcher and emerging technologies oriented, my favorite product is cellulosic nanomaterials that will find wide applications in many industrial sectors and has the potential to provide the next big boost to our industry. Forests continue to be major strategic assets world-wide and we need to continue to sustainably use them to responsibly provide the materials we need for daily living. I firmly believe that our industry will continue to evolve and be as viable in the future as it was in the past.