TAPPI Podcast Network

This special episode of Better Together was recorded during SuperCorrExpo in Orlando, FL, in August 2021. Packaging professionals know SuperCorrExpo as one of the most influential corrugated packaging shows in the Western Hemisphere. We set up our podcast booth on the huge exhibit floor to try to capture some of the energy and enthusiasm generated by this highly anticipated event. To share their perspectives on the corrugated industry and tell us about the innovations on display at SuperCorrExpo, we invited the following professionals to be our guests for the episode:

·      Adam Bland, Quantum Ink, who will share why Quantum is passionate about customer service;
·      Steve Laszlo, Mitsubishi heavy industries, discussing augmented reality technology;
·      George Folickman and Tyler Thompson, Tilia Labs, who will introduce us to Tilea’s Phoenix software system;
·      Dr. Ben Frank, PCA, this year’s recipient of TAPPI’s Gunnar Nicholson Gold Medal, who will talk about his process of discovery.

This is the first of two episodes in our “Live from SuperCorrExpo!” series; Part 2 will post next week. In the meantime, view a highlight reel of the event at www.supercorrexpo.org.

In this episode we welcome Karen Dillon, an acclaimed author, speaker, and thought leader in the areas of innovation, leadership, and personal success.  Join Karen Dillon and Paper360° Editorial Director Jan Bottiglieri as they discuss What Dillon calls “Market-Creating Innovation” – the type of innovation that can really make a difference for producers and end-users.

It starts with a struggle, she says. Once companies learn to identify where their customers are struggling, opportunities open up. “It’s really exciting, because you can see struggle in very surprising places,” she says. “And if you can see the struggle, you can start thinking from scratch about solving it.”

 We also discuss how leaders can foster innovation; what it means to support “prosperity”, and how the paper industry is particularly well-positioned to take advantage of new opportunities for success.

In this episode we welcome Karen Dillon, an acclaimed author, speaker, and thought leader in the areas of innovation, leadership, and personal success.  Join Karen Dillon and Paper360° Editorial Director Jan Bottiglieri as they discuss What Dillon calls “Market-Creating Innovation” – the type of innovation that can really make a difference for producers and end-users.

It starts with a struggle, she says. Once companies learn to identify where their customers are struggling, opportunities open up. “It’s really exciting, because you can see struggle in very surprising places,” she says. “And if you can see the struggle, you can start thinking from scratch about solving it.”

We also discuss how leaders can foster innovation; what it means to support “prosperity”, and how the paper industry is particularly well-positioned to take advantage of new opportunities for success.

In our seventh podcast, Paper360° Editorial Director Jan Bottiglieri speaks with a panel of Project Managers from leading pulp and paper industry supplier Valmet. We’ll talk about “success through resilience”—the idea that if you really want to have every element in place for a successful project, you can’t ignore the skills and talents that make people flexible, adaptable, and ready to innovate.

Valmet project managers Luan Fellman, Mike Fiore, Mikko Iitti, and Joe Lambie all share their perspectives on what resilience means to them – and how it helps when crunch time happens. “I think ‘resilience’ means you’re not going back to where you were; you’re stretching, you’re growing… you’re able to adapt to change,” says Fellman. “During COVID, that’s been so critical.”

We’re following up this month’s podcast with a feature in the May/June issue of Paper360° that details a few startup projects that put these ideas in action. If you think it sounds impossible to have a successful equipment startup during a global pandemic, check out “Success through Resilience” in the Techlink Section of Paper360°’s May/June issue.  https://paper360.tappi.org

In our seventh podcast, Paper360° Editorial Director Jan Bottiglieri speaks with a panel of Project Managers from leading pulp and paper industry supplier Valmet. We’ll talk about “success through resilience”—the idea that if you really want to have every element in place for a successful project, you can’t ignore the skills and talents that make people flexible, adaptable, and ready to innovate.  

 Valmet project managers Luan Fellman, Mike Fiore, Mikko Iitti, and Joe Lambie all share their perspectives on what resilience means to them – and how it helps when crunch time happens. “I think ‘resilience’ means you’re not going back to where you were; you’re stretching, you’re growing… you’re able to adapt to change,” says Fellman. “During COVID, that’s been so critical.”

 We’re following up this month’s podcast with a feature in the May/June issue of Paper360° that details a few startup projects that put these ideas in action. If you think it sounds impossible to have a successful equipment startup during a global pandemic, check out “Success through Resilience” in the Techlink Section of Paper360°’s May/June issue.  https://paper360.tappi.org

In Episode 6 we speak with Thomas M. Nelson, author of the book One Day Stronger, a newly-released book that tells the turnaround story of the Appleton Coated Mill in Wisconsin’s paper valley. Host Jan Bottiglieri talks with Tom about what he learned growing up in a papermill town, and how pulp and paper is a “quintessential American manufacturing industry.” 

As Nelson comments, “We have to get over this false narrative that this is a dying industry… this industry is worthwhile. It needs time, money, and resources… It needs a champion.”

 About the book:

In August, 2017, Appleton Coated, an historic mill in Wisconsin’s paper valley, was sold to an industrial scrapper; hundreds of jobs were threatened, and a way of life hung in the balance. But then the unlikely happened: The mill’s union local and one county official leveraged an obscure legal strategy to stop the selloff. Today, the Appleton Coated mill is alive and well, operating as Midwest Paper Group. One Day Stronger tells the story behind this remarkable turnaround and shows how labor, working in common cause with business and local government, can restore the American dream.

“One Day Stronger is one of the best books, if not the best, about the paper industry and perhaps about American Industry in general.”

—Gerry Ring, Professor Emeritus, University of Wisconsin—Stevens Point

https://onedaystrongerbook.com 

In Episode 6 we speak with Thomas M. Nelson, author of the book One Day Stronger, a newly-released book that tells the turnaround story of the Appleton Coated Mill in Wisconsin’s paper valley. Host Jan Bottiglieri talks with Tom about what he learned growing up in a papermill town, and how pulp and paper is a “quintessential American manufacturing industry.”

As Nelson comments, “We have to get over this false narrative that this is a dying industry… this industry is worthwhile. It needs time, money, and resources… It needs a champion.”

About the book:

In August, 2017, Appleton Coated, an historic mill in Wisconsin’s paper valley, was sold to an industrial scrapper; hundreds of jobs were threatened, and a way of life hung in the balance. But then the unlikely happened: The mill’s union local and one county official leveraged an obscure legal strategy to stop the selloff. Today, the Appleton Coated mill is alive and well, operating as Midwest Paper Group. One Day Stronger tells the story behind this remarkable turnaround and shows how labor, working in common cause with business and local government, can restore the American dream.

“One Day Stronger is one of the best books, if not the best, about the paper industry and perhaps about American Industry in general.”

—Gerry Ring, Professor Emeritus, University of Wisconsin—Stevens Point

https://onedaystrongerbook.com 

In this episode we talk to Dana Mosora, founder of Dana Mosora Consulting and a consultant for the European CEFLEX (Circular Economy for Flexible Packaging) Consortium. She will also be keynote speaker at the 2021 International Flexible Packaging and Extrusion Division (IFPED) Virtual Conference on March 17th.

Mosora and host Jan Bottiglieri, Paper360°, will discuss an ambitious goal: the CEFLEX “Mission Circular” target to make all flexible packaging in Europe circular by 2025. “It’s an exciting journey… If you’d ask me a year and a half ago, I’d have been skeptical that we would get there,” says Mosora. “Today, I’m optimistic that we’ll get reasonably close.”

Mosora says it’s all about engagement – and we’ll find out how the circular economy presents not only an answer to the environmental challenges posed by plastic packaging, but a true business opportunity. We’ll also learn how the flexible packaging industry is engaging with young professionals eager to make a difference.

“What’s important is to show how we can address big problems—and show it with concrete solutions,” Mosora says.

Register for the IFPED Virtual Conference: https://events.tappiflexible.org

Learn more about CEFLEX: https://ceflex.eu

Visit Dana Mosora Consulting, dedicated to driving the Circular Economy for Plastic Packaging: http://www.danamosora-consulting.eu/

Read about Mosora’s legacy project, the ASASE Foundation in Accra, Ghana. The foundation is helping entrepreneur women from under-privileged communities start social enterprises in recycling plastic packaging, to deviate it from urban and marine littering: https://asasegh.com

In this episode we talk to Dana Mosora, founder of Dana Mosora Consulting and a consultant for the European CEFLEX (Circular Economy for Flexible Packaging) Consortium. She will also be keynote speaker at the 2021 International Flexible Packaging and Extrusion Division (IFPED) Virtual Conference on March 17th.

 Mosora and host Jan Bottiglieri, Paper360°, will discuss an ambitious goal: the CEFLEX “Mission Circular” target to make all flexible packaging in Europe circular by 2025. “It’s an exciting journey… If you’d ask me a year and a half ago, I’d have been skeptical that we would get there,” says Mosora. “Today, I’m optimistic that we’ll get reasonably close.” 

 Mosora says it’s all about engagement – and we’ll find out how the circular economy presents not only an answer to the environmental challenges posed by plastic packaging, but a true business opportunity. We’ll also learn how the flexible packaging industry is engaging with young professionals eager to make a difference.

 “What’s important is to show how we can address big problems—and show it with concrete solutions,” Mosora says.

 Register for the IFPED Virtual Conference: https://events.tappiflexible.org

 Learn more about CEFLEX: https://ceflex.eu

 Visit Dana Mosora Consulting, dedicated to driving the Circular Economy for Plastic Packaging: http://www.danamosora-consulting.eu/

 Read about Mosora’s legacy project, the ASASE Foundation in Accra, Ghana. The foundation is helping entrepreneur women from under-privileged communities start social enterprises in recycling plastic packaging, to deviate it from urban and marine littering: https://asasegh.com