The future is in converting

Hugh O’Brian

Another reason that converting is growing in importance is that converting is where you have flexibility. The paper machine is very fixed, there is not much you can change except fibers. But converting is very flexible so you can mix and match various technologies in ways that have not been used before to get very unique properties. It is becoming plug and play, very modular.

This is important because today the only way to get a new product on the shelf is to offer one whose characteristics are really different. The retailers decide which products go on the shelves, so to get noticed the new products have to be significantly different.

The downside is that if they are a success, you can be sure that the private label guys will be making the same soon. Even at GP,K-C and SCA, which are running dual tracks, the private label managers want to be able to sell the same product as the brand.

PJL: HOW DO YOU MANAGE THAT SITUATION?

GG: At the multinationals the rules are generally that the latest generation is for branded product and the previous generation of technology becomes available for PL product.

PJL: WHERE DO THE MACHINE SUPPLIERS FIT INTO THE PICTURE?

GG: The converting equipment suppliers have a very important role to play. Unless you have an advanced R&D department of your own with lots of people, you need some help from your machine suppliers. Some converting machine suppliers like Fabio Perini S.p.A. are extremely advanced in their product development and innovation services. Many products on the supermarket shelves have been developed with their help. This doesn’t only apply to the small companies. The big companies are also cutting costs and one of the first things to be cut is R&D cost. They prefer to put their money in marketing and sales activities as they see faster return. For better or worse, that is simply the way it is. So for machine suppliers to offer pilot plant facilities is really a very big plus. You have to rent it out at a big cost but the payback is more or less immediate.

Papermaking pilot lines are also very important. Multinationals spend millions of dollars at companies like Metso running trials before starting a TAD machine. Of course this is big money but the payoff is quick. It is like having world class, fully qualified R&D staff but only paying for them part time, when you actually use them to their full potential.

The true benefit comes at startup. At the push of a button, everything works. The pilot machine helps get all the settings just right for the big machine when it is ready to start. So those who do the trial work ahead of the startup win many weeks or even months of time. People were in fact surprised at how steep the startup curve was. And the investors are happy to have a major project going on stream at full steam.

One comment I want to make is that I think the paper machine suppliers need to be more in tune with the end users and the retail situation. I believe there has been a tendency for the machine makers to simply focus on their own equipment and technology without getting the whole picture of where the market is heading. They need to really understand what is happening on the distribution side, meaning on the supermarket shelves. It is not G-P, K-C, P&G or SCA running the show today, it is the Lidls, WalMarts and Aldis of this world. The more concentrated the distribution and retail sector is, the more difficult it is to get a fair price for a good product. I think the converting machine people have understood this better and quicker than the paper machine suppliers.

PJL: IS CONVERTING GETTING MORE RESPECT AND INTEREST FROM THE TISSUE COMPANIES TODAY?

GG: Papermakers have always presented themselves with a capital P. And converters with a small c. The paper machine has for a long time, perhaps too long, been the focus of tissue making. I think that is now changing with good reason. To be honest, the independent converters are the ones driving the market today. The converting area of the plant is now getting more investment too. If you look at the total investment in a modern new mill, the capital split between paper making and converting/packaging is about 50/50. This is a big change from about 10 years ago when converting was almost an afterthought.

Of course you can have cheaper solutions and cut out some of the automation on the converting and packaging side but that is short sighted. The difference is made up with manual labor. I always say: “You don’t give a robot a pay raise”. They have not created unions yet either and they don’t have tea breaks. So I think that additional spending on automation is highly justified in many parts of the world. And if the market is not ready for such advanced converting and packaging, the converting lay out should be done in such a way that it does not interfere with expansion in the future. Clearly, from my point of view at least, the future of our industry is in converting. Most of the money is made in converting.

PJL: ONE FINAL QUESTION. ARE YOU INVOLVED IN THE TISSUE TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM THAT IS BEING CREATED AT KARLSTAD UNIVERSITY IN SWEDEN AND WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE IDEA?

GG: I think it is a great idea, which can also be a key driving force to help the industry grow. I have been asked to help with some of the courses and I am pleased to be involved. As far as I am aware there is nothing similar anywhere in the world, so I think it will be very interesting to see how it evolves. It is starting from a fairly Swedish base which is a very good foundation. Over time, I would like to see it grow to become a truly global resource for the tissue business.

Holger Hollmark took the initiative and Metso Paper very smartly offered to support it with the pilot equipment they have in Karlstad. It should be a good opportunity to bring more people into the tissue business, and also stimulate new developments. I see it as an important part of the efforts to grow the industry.•