March 5, 2024
Reading the latest news it seems as if the global tissue industry is going through a particularly dynamic stage. There are expansions, acquisitions, and partnerships forming across the whole range of the industry involving both producers and suppliers. It really does feel like we are gearing up for a new era.
However, let’s be honest, the world is in a chaotic state at the moment. It seems as if leaders everywhere across the world are unable to sit around a table and thrash out a plan where we can all live in peace and harmony. In fact, there is even a buzzword emanating from the military, VUCA, pertaining to the global situation. New to most of us out there, the four-letter acronym stands for: Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity, and describes the situation of constant, unpredictable change that is now predominant across many industries and the business world.
It will be interesting to see how the tissue industry navigates its way around this VUCA scenario in the future, but it is already being discussed at high level in the industry, as was clear at Tissue World in Miami earlier this year. The theme of the conference even included the acronym in its title: All To Play for in a VUCA World: Strategies for Winning With Tissue.
The industry has already been through major changes over the last decades as globalization has taken hold, but with all the conflicts and possible future conflicts, we will certainly see global trade slow down and be replaced by more regional scenarios, particularly as logistics and transportation volatility make it unviable to ship parent rolls and end products across the world.
AMAZING HISTORIC GROWTH WITH CHANGES AHEAD
Reports and figures lately on consumption of tissue tell an amazing tale of growth over the decades. According to Fastmarkets Tissue Principal Esko Uutela, tissue demand—and along with it the manufacturing industry—has seen a growth rate of four percent a year since 1971. Back then, global consumption was a measly 6.15 million metric tpy; it grew to over 43 million metric tpy for 2021. Uutela comments that the industry has drastically changed over the years from regional supply to intercontinental, but this situation could change rapidly due to the unstable world we find ourselves in in 2024.
Anyway, away from all the uncertainty, what is certain is that there is an optimistic buzz around the industry at present which was clear to see at Tissue World in Miami. It seemed that anyone who is anything in tissue was present at the conference and exhibition, including senior executives from producer companies and all the main suppliers to the industry. The main sessions were a hotbed of discussions in relation to opportunities and challenges, and the technical sessions were devoted to looking forward with a complete raft of new technologies for saving energy and improving efficiency.
A highlight of the conference was a keynote given by Jean-David Tardif, president and COO of Cascades, who agreed that the world was witnessing some chaos, but the number one priority for the company is tackling climate change. A sobering thought that perhaps the world has more important things to concentrate on than deadly territorial disputes and nations against nations.
A final highlight was a fantastic presentation given by Susan Irving, chief marketing officer of Kruger Products, who aired the company’s latest tissue marketing videos. This was a real tonic for the troops, underlining the importance of all types of tissue products in the messy world we live in. Google “Kruger tissue products videos” and view creativity in this industry at its peak. You will thank me later!
MARK RUSHTON
Editor, Tissue360°