TAPPI Podcast Network

This episode was recorded on-site at TAPPI's 2025 Student Summit in St. Petersburg, FL. More than 300 attendees—including pulp and paper engineering students from 13 different universities—enjoyed panel discussions, a Career Fair, and Engineering Challenge, and so much more. We asked students to "take the mic" to host their own interviews and share their unique voices.

First up, Western Michigan University students Parker Langellier and Toby Archer interview Dr. Med Byrd, Professor and Undergraduate Coordinator for the Paper Science and Engineering program at North Carolina State University.  "The paper process is very unique, very specific, and—let's face it—delightfully funky," Dr. Byrd tells our hosts, as they explore what makes pulp and paper such an amazing career choice.

Next, veteran Student Summiteers Tanner Stogner and Michael Reuss interview first-time Summit attendees Conyers Preveaux and Gavin Knight. All four are students at Auburn University in Auburn, AL. As one student comments, "You see familiar faces all around. It's really nice that we have 300 people here and we all want the same thing: to grow our industry."

This is the first of two episodes hosted by student volunteers at the 2025 Student Summit. Make sure to Subscribe to Better Together so you won't miss the next episode!

This episode was recorded on-site at TAPPI's 2025 Student Summit in St. Petersburg, FL. More than 300 attendees—including pulp and paper engineering students from 13 different universities—enjoyed panel discussions, a Career Fair, and Engineering Challenge, and so much more. We asked students to "take the mic" to host their own interviews and share their unique voices.

Our first guest hosts are Tabitha Newberry, Katelyn Gyurich, and Shelby Conley, three students studying Paper Engineering at Western Michigan University. "I think my favorite part of student summit is making connections," says one of our students, as they discuss what makes this industry truly special. Their enthusiasm for TAPPI is contagious... and they may just have the next billion-dollar idea in specialty tissue.

Next, Jacob Levesque, a chemical engineering student in the pulp and paper program at the University of Maine, interviews TAPPI's own Sidney Onyekwere, Standards Project Coordinator, about the tremendous knowledge-growing possibilities for students within the Standards and TIPs process. "We offer a Swiss army knife of knowledge and information—there's something for everyone," Sidney says.

This is the second of two episodes hosted by student volunteers at the 2025 Student Summit. Subscribe today to Better Together and share this episode to spread the word about the amazing opportunities available to students who choose a career in pulp, paper, and packaging.

On this episode of Better Together, host Jan Bottiglieri speaks with Naomi Gehling, Academic Programs Administrator for Auburn University in Auburn, AL. A former Auburn alum herself, Naomi shares her knowledge about what students in the pulp and paper sciences really want from a career in our industries.

Our students are amazing—they're so smart, and they're ready to go," she says. "I've not met anyone in our Pulp and Paper program who is not excited about going into our industry. They're invested."

Auburn has an undergraduate specialization that focuses on pulp and paper industry training; that specialization is open to students from a variety of engineering disciplines. The Alabama Center for Paper and Bioresource Engineering, hosted within Auburn's Department of Chemical Engineering, has a complete, controlled-conditioned, wettest laboratory for chemically and physically evaluating pulp and paper.

The Auburn Pulp and Paper Foundation (APPF) provides scholarship support for students  on the way to becoming highly skilled, entry level engineers in the pulp, paper and allied Industries. The APPF connects those students to engaging Co-op or intern experiences within papermaking or supplier companies, and then finally with full-time employment in the industry for those students as they graduate.

The annual TAPPI-PIMA Student Summit is the premier event for students in engineering and technical programs nationwide. No matter where you are in your academic journey, it’s the perfect chance to network with fellow students, industry experts, hiring companies, and potential mentors. The 2025 Student Summit will take place January 18-20 in St. Petersburg, FL. 

Welcome to the second of two special SuperCorrExpo 2024 episodes, recorded on site and unscripted at this amazing event. We do these event episodes to capture some of the energy you might experience if YOU were there: meeting peers, learning new things, and expanding the limits of your professional life.
Today's guests are:

Bowman Mitchell, VP national accounts at Redlist Software:
"In this world, operations is king. You've got to get as many boxes out that door as possible."

Jason Hooston, CEO & co-founder at Two10 Technologies:
"If I'm going to make a decision, the most important thing is that I want to have confidence in that decision... data is a big part of that."

Christine Little, director of sales, corrugated machinery, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries:
"We're focusing on what we're calling Declaration of the Independents. We're looking at the independent market a little differently."

Jeff Buchanan, director of sales and market development; and Tyler Haggard, director of business development, for HarperLove:
"If we can help improve productivity and reduce waste, it's huge in the marketplace not only for us, but also for our customers' savings."

Teemu Salo, managing director at Adara Pakkaus Oy:
"You need to rely on your partner. You need to keep good contacts and whatever comes up, you have to take it to the table and run through it."

Rick Putch, director of technical services and process improvement, National Steel Rule:
"If there's one thing in the corrugated industry that everybody's looking for, it's productivity gains. In class, I break it into three things."

These conversations were captured at SuperCorrExpo 2024, held September 8 - 12 in Orlando, FL. Occurring only once every four years, SCE is the premier trade show and conference dedicated to the corrugated packaging industry. It is organized by TAPPI and AICC.

SAVE THE DATE for SuperCorrExpo 2028, which will again take place September 8 - 12 in Orlando, FL.

Please remember to share, like, and subscribe!
And join us again for Better Together.

Welcome to the first of two special SuperCorrExpo 2024 episodes, recorded on site and unscripted at this amazing event.  Maybe you missed this year's SuperCorrExpo... maybe you were there and want to recapture some of the awesome energy... maybe you just love corrugated professionals for the cool and interesting people they are. Whatever the case, this episode is for you!

Our guests include:

Steve Rote, technical development director, Metsä Board Americas:
"We need to adapt to the changing times, whether it's market demands or technology."

Sharon DiRé, senior product marketing manager, Advantive:
"So as circumstances change... the machines automatically update (to) keep things moving efficiently, which helps minimize waste as well."

Igor Tkalenko, CEO, Corruga.expert:
"We get many messages about how to bring young people to the industry, so for    SuperCorrExpo we came up with the idea of... a game."

Gokul Gopakumar, VP, technology and business development, Sun Automation: "It is very important to understand AI as a tool and not mystify it so much."

Jerry Vivlamore, corrugated end of line process application partner, Signode:
"We can provide the customer with a dashboard of how well their equipment is running."

Ludovic Tremblay, product expert, ConformIT:
"You meet people that have been in this industry for 30 years—and for a reason. Once you're in it, you get it."

These conversations were captured at SuperCorrExpo 2024, which was held September 8 - 12 in Orlando, FL. Held only once every four years, SCE is the premier trade show and conference dedicated to the corrugated packaging industry. It is organized by TAPPI and AICC.

SAVE THE DATE for SuperCorrExpo 2028, which will again take place September 8 - 12 in Orlando, FL.

Share, like, and subscribe!  We truly are.... Better Together.

Safety is not just a buzzword for the pulp, paper, and packaging industries—it's critical to our operations and to our collective future. For an inspired group of TAPPI members and safety professionals, that was the motivation behind a new TAPPI Technical Information Paper (TIP) that outlines a proven approach to safety training that any mill can use. PIMA TIP 1502-01 Improving Safety Training - A Hands-on Approach represents a new category for TIPs and the first from the PIMA division.

Our guest for this episode is Kurt Mehlberg, quality solutions manager for Domtar, Resolute, and Paper Excellence, and a recipient of the Division Leadership and Service Award for TAPPI's PIMA Division. He alsohad a big hand in developing this new TIP with other members of PIMA's Safety Committee. As Kurt says, "We're all on that safety journey towards zero"—there is no other acceptable goal for any mill or plant. Kurt shares more about this TIP's development process and why the effort has been so beneficial.

Learn more about PIMA, or any of TAPPI's other volunteer-led divisions.

Grow professionally by getting involved in the TAPPI Standards and TIPs process.

Access TAPPI Standards and TIPs online 24/7 through either Individual or Company license.

"Dark, dirty, dull, dangerous, and dumb"—that's a common misconception about careers in manufacturing, says guest Jake Hall on this episode of the Better Together podcast. Yet, according to Hall, "manufacturing is an industry that creates so much opportunity... I think it's the foundation of our economy."

As the Manufacturing Millennial, Hall talks to corporate clients and audiences around the country about automation, technology, and what they can mean for modern manufacturers when it comes to attracting young professionals. He is an experienced sales professional with deep insight into the millennial mindset—as well as the tremendous opportunities manufacturing can offer for companies willing to make the connection.

Hall graduated from Grand Valley State University with a bachelor’s in Product Design and Manufacturing Engineering and a minor in Biomedical Engineering. He will serve as the keynote speaker at the upcoming SuperCorrExpo in Orlando, FL, September 8 - 11. Check the links below to learn more about Jake Hall and the SCE event.

Homepage for Jake Hall, the Manufacturing Millennial: themanufacturingmillennial.com

SuperCorrExpo details, including program updates: supercorrexpo.org

Register for SuperCorrExpo.

Strong attendance, special events, and a sold-out exhibit hall kept the energy high at TAPPICon, held April 28 - May 1 at Cleveland's Huntington Convention Center. Better Together host Jan Bottiglieri was in Cleveland to try to capture that energy at the podcast booth. In this episode, we bring you six fun, short interviews—here's a sampling of what you'll hear:

Brian Mock—President, Event Capture Systems:
"We want to reduce waste and delay... and we want to do that in such a way that allows the paper maker to increase efficiencies of the overall process."

 Heather Jennings—Director, Huma Environmental and
John Rudd—Director of Operations, IoT-MFG Company:
"Let's look at that entire ecosystem and then once we understand it, we can start reacting to it in a positive way."

 David Strobhar—Principal Human Factors Engineer, Beville Engineering:
" At the very time when you want the alarm system to help you, it's actually working against you. And then of course, the operators were getting blamed."

 Shih-Chin Chen—retired, recipient of 2019 Gunnar Nicholson Gold Medal:
"The knowledge of all the participants is just amazing. So you learn every time, from a very broad spectrum of people. You get pulled in!"

 Herman Quon—Sales Manager, Esko:
"Sustainability is what this industry is all about and innovation in the paper industry is what will sustain this industry."

John Weiler—Sales Manager, Boston Dynamics:
"Part of the reason why I'm at the show is to talk about how mobile robots are creating safer tissue and paper and pulp operations around the world."

Other resources mentioned on this Episode of Better Together include:

·      View Brian Mock's Chalk Talks on Near Infrared LEDs for pulp and paper mills.

·      Learn more about the Center for Operator Performance that David mentions.

·      Try out Esko's oil viscosity calculator.

·      See Spot the Robot Dog in action.

Strong attendance, special events, and a sold-out exhibit hall kept the energy high at TAPPICon, held April 28 - May 1 at Cleveland's Huntington Convention Center. Better Together host Jan Bottiglieri was in Cleveland to try to capture that energy at the podcast booth. In this episode, we bring you seven fun short interviews—here's a sampling of what you'll hear:

Bobby Hyde—Application Specialist, Valmet:
"If your heart rate doesn't get up... because you're in an uncomfortable spot, then really at the end of the day, are you learning anything?"

Lu Athnos—Regional Sales Manager, Pulp & Paper, ABB Automation:
"It's not enough just to fix a problem. You have to document that knowledge and you have to be able to share that knowledge in an actionable way."

Peter Kayser—Managing Director, Krafft Walzen:
"I find it personally quite amazing, what this business is capable of doing—to be reinvented for the future."

Sneh Patel—Chief Operating Officer, JMC Paper Tech USA:
"This has been amazing for us as a family. It was our grandfather's dream to open up our own mill again... it's great knowing that we're able to keep that legacy going." 

Elliott Bell—Global Head of Pulp & Paper, Radix Engineering and Software:
"I love pulp and paper... It is some of the most interesting technology, some of the most interesting challenges that you'll see in any industry."

Vera Hallikainen—Development Manager, Finnish Forest Products Engineers' Association:
"I think innovation is the key... while we keep innovating together, I think the future is very bright."

Ludovic Tremblay—Product Expert, CONFORMiT:
"We're talking about taking all the data from the mill—all the valves, all the disconnects, switches, all the breakers—putting 'em in the system and making them work for the plant."

Other resources mentioned on this Episode of Better Together include:

·      Check out Bobby Hyde's free webinar about Tissue Drone Services.

·      Meet amazing women in our industry with ABB's Unstoppable series.

·      Visit Germany's Modellfabrik Papier, an industry consortium working toward climate goals.

·      Access the Finnish Forest Products Engineers' extensive Forest BIoFacts Series.

·      Learn more about TAPPI's Divisions, Committees, and Special Interest Groups.