March 5, 2024
The tissue sessions at TAPPICon this year will be a veritable feast of knowledge sharing; from the challenges of growing non-wood fiber for tissue products, right through to converting—and everything in between. Tissue360° spoke with Jessica Carette, R&D project director for Cascades, and Gary Furman, senior corporate scientist at Nalco Water, an Ecolab Company, who led the Tissue Program Committee in putting together the tissue track at TAPPICon to be held at the Huntington Convention Center in Cleveland, Ohio, April 28-May 1.
When talking to Carette and Furman, the new co-chairs of the TAPPI Tissue Division this year, it immediately becomes apparent that tissue R&D is a major passion in their lives.
Carette says, “You know you have a real passion when it’s all you think about, even when you are not at work.”
Furman adds, “I have worked in various paper industry roles in my 38-year career, but I always come back to what I love the most, R&D in tissue.”
Carette is a chemist by profession and has worked variously in the pulp and paper industry, including at chemical supplier Kemira and FP Innovations in Canada, and has been a member of TAPPI since her student days. Working for the last seven years with Cascades, first in the tissue group and then at the research and development center, Carette says her daily job now is to “help fellow Cascadeurs to reach their dreams.”
Furman started out with a master’s and PhD in paper science and first worked for Kimberly- Clark before joining Nalco some 35 years ago. He has been a member of TAPPI for 40 years. With 40 US patents to his name, Furman says, “It was at Kimberly-Clark where I first developed a real passion for R&D in tissue, and now I find myself in the perfect role as senior corporate scientist at Nalco Water.”
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PECHA KUCHA: “TISSUE—PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE”
This passion from the co-chairs becomes clear when looking over the comprehensive program that has been prepared for this year’s TAPPICon event. With a firm focus on sustainability, there are currently 31 presentations in total, kicking off with an ideal appetizer in the shape of a Pecha Kucha on tissue. Titled: “Tissue – Past, Present, and Future,” the Pecha Kucha will provide a rapid-fire history of tissue use and production that has seen the evolution from sticks and moss in ancient history to the most advanced technology in the production process producing today’s luxury qualities and beyond. The Pecha Kucha—Japanese for chit-chat—will be held in the Convention Center’s Grand Ballroom A and is a unique way of presenting at high speed to emphasize the most important points of a particular subject.
“The Pecha Kucha is going to be great fun as well as a challenge. We have eight presenters clicking through 20 slides that have to be presented at a pace of 20 seconds each,” says Carette. “It is a real honor for us to be presenting on the main stage at TAPPICon, and an excellent example of how important tissue has become to the paper industry in North America.”
The rest of the three-day program covers the complete gamut of the tissue industry and is made up of eight different sessions with dedicated presentations and panel discussions. The tissue program itself is put together by the TAPPI Tissue Division Council, eight experts from the tissue industry including tissue production professionals, manufacturers and suppliers. The topics are discussed by way of collaboration with numerous knowledgeable TAPPI members and experts.
“The council is made up of dedicated people who are also passionate about tissue and sharing knowledge,” says Carette. “Furthermore, the quality of the presenters we have in place is excellent, so delegates can expect enthusiastic presentations which will be fun as well as full of interesting information.”
FOCUS ON SUSTAINABILITY
Some of the highlights of the main program include a dedicated session on sustainability trends in tissue, a focus on non-wood fiber for tissue products, and a special session on analysis of existing products where experts will reveal what fiber is found in various products.
“We have included presentations from industry experts, AFRY and ResourceWise, which will give our delegates knowledge about trends in sustainability and what customers are showing as a preference in tissue products,” says Furman.
“Further on into the focus of sustainability, we have various sessions dedicated to alternative fibers, which are becoming of real interest to tissue producers. Here we go in-depth into, for example, how bamboo fiber is grown, how it is processed, and how it behaves when at the manufacturing stage.”
Carette says that there will be truly something for all tissue professionals at TAPPICon this year, “We are all aware of the rising costs in the industry, as well as the goals to reduce carbon footprint, which is why our program has been built around the subject of sustainability. So, whether a company is looking to alternative fibers, improved efficiencies, or reducing energy use, there is something for everybody.
“With this program for 2024 we challenged ourselves to come up with the most relevant presentations that tissue professionals need right now to help them to do the best job,” concludes Carette.
For further information about the Tissue Division and its various committees, including the Yankee Dryer Safety and Reliability and Dust Mitigation Committees, please contact TAPPI Tissue Division Account Manager Robert Davis via email at rdavis@tappi.org, or by phone at 770-209-7279.