Travels with Larry near the Windy City

The date of August 16th has a special meaning to me. This date happens to be the day, in different years, when the Sultan of Swat, Babe Ruth, and the King of Rock-N-Roll, Elvis Presley passed away. Both of these men were leaders in their chosen profession. Although many have tried to mimic them over the decades, they both represent the gold standard in their chosen fields.

This past August 16, 2012, Eric Fletty and I had the pleasure of visiting another leader in its chosen field—NALCO, a newly acquired Ecolab Company. Ecolab realized that a very good way to increase its business was to expand outside of its historic markets, in this case the pulp and paper industry.

We actually received two separate invitations—by TAPPI members Steve Govoni and Garnet Bremner—to visit NALCO's headquarters in Naperville, Ill.

Nalco has been a staple within TAPPI and our industry for years. It has been a TAPPI Sustaining Member Company since 1949. The company's tag line is Essential Expertise for Pulp and Paper. NALCO's longest tenured TAPPI Member is Ollie O'Neal. Ollie has been a member since January 1, 1981.

Steve Govoni was kind enough to assemble a group of approximately 20 employees who wanted to hear an update on how best to utilize their memberships in TAPPI. During this meeting, we heard some great testimonies on what they liked best over the years with TAPPI as well as several recommendations on how we might improve TAPPI. These types of meetings have impacted how we run TAPPI and have played a big role in TAPPI being in the black for five years in a row.

NALCO approaches its business demonstrating cost improvement opportunities in the areas of Raw Material, Water and Energy, Chemicals, and Efficiency. The company has several case studies available that demonstrate numerous ways it delivered in each of these areas.

Steve was kind enough to take us on a tour of Nalco's offices and research labs. It was apparent from the start they are looking to invent delivery systems that work in conjunction with their chemicals that will enhance machine efficiencies in the mills.

One of Nalco's latest innovations is OxiPRO™ Technology for Deposit Control. It combines NALCO's proprietary and proactive monitoring tools, individually tailored chemistry strategies, and local application expertise to improve machine efficiency.

NALCO was clear that it does not just sell chemicals. It sells an innovative, integrated solution approach to its customer base. This statement was explained with Nalco's PARETO Mixing Technology that has been specifically designed to reduce the inefficiencies and challenges inherent in traditional papermaking methods.

Our thanks to all of the TAPPI members who were able to join us and to NALCO for allowing us the time for this visit and for being a TAPPI Sustaining Member Company for 63 years.

In the photo below are (l-r) Brett Brotherson, Ollie O'Neal, Paul Richardson, Linda Strysik, Ross Gray, Steve Govoni, Larry Montague, Dorota Smoron, William Johnson, Shawnee Wilson, Chris Kaley, Zhiyi (Jerry) Zhang, Jane Wong Shing, Laura Rice, Ray Miller, and Liliya Lund. Not pictured is Eric Fletty, who served as our camera man.

More information about NALCO is available online.

More information about TAPPI or how your company can become a TAPPI sustaining member is also available online.

Remember, there are two types of people in our industry—TAPPI members and those who should be.

Until next time.......................

Larry