Keine Bilder? Webversion COMPETENCE IN PAPER NewsletterMarch 2021 From the officeDear members and friends of ZELLCHEMING, A good year ago, we were confronted with the new COVID-19 virus for the first time, and shortly thereafter the first lockdown in Germany came into effect. No one could have foreseen what followed. From the paper industry's point of view, the pandemic once again demonstrated that our industry supplies reliable and important products such as packaging and sanitary papers. Read more in the following excerpt from the annual report of the German Pulp and Paper Association (VDP). Stay optimistic and healthy, Petra Hanke From society & politicsbvdm concerned about announced price increases for paperIn recent weeks, announcements of price increases for paper, in some cases on a significant scale of 6 to 8%, have reached many print service providers. They are also causing the German Printing and Media Industries Federation (bvdm) great concern. (bvdm), as the printing industry feels even less able to pass on price increases from suppliers to its customers in the current pandemic crisis situation. Against this background, the bvdm is appealing to producers not to get carried away. After all, they would ultimately be doing themselves a disservice if this were to make the print shops' business even more difficult, it says in a press release. "Anyone who now anticipates future increases in the price of raw materials in huge price increases for paper, ignores their own cost reductions for electricity in view of a lower EEG levy, and wants to plan new attempts at further increases, is sawing at the branch on which paper suppliers and print service providers are sitting together," comments Dr. Paul Albert Deimel, Managing Director of the bvdm. From industryBalance 2020: Paper industry supplied reliably during crisisThe paper industry has continued to reliably supply important products such as packaging and sanitary papers during the Corona crisis. "The industry has once again shown that it is indispensable during the pandemic," said the president of the German Pulp and Paper Association (VDP), Winfried Schaur, at the presentation of the annual balance. The decline in production in the paper industry was therefore only 3.3% in 2020. The sector was thus significantly better than German industry as a whole, whose production fell by more than 10%, according to the German Federal Statistical Office. A total of 21.4 million tons of paper, cardboard and paperboard were produced in 2020. Sales in the industry as a whole fell by 11.6% to 12.7 billion euros. The production of packaging papers - the largest grade group in Germany - increased by 2.6% to 12.4 million tons in the crisis year 2020. The reason for the positive development was the increased demand for packaging for food and online retailing during the Corona pandemic. Sanitary papers also saw production growth of 2%. The hoarding of toilet paper had presented manufacturers with particular challenges in production and logistics. In 2020, a total of 1.5 million tons of sanitary papers were produced, about half of which was toilet paper. There was a significant decline in the production of graphic papers in 2020. Here, production fell by 15.1% to 6 million tons. "On the one hand, the Corona pandemic has further accelerated the trend towards digitization, and on the other hand, there were one-off effects caused by the lockdown, particularly in the second quarter of 2020, for example in the postponement of advertising measures and the closure of sales outlets. This affects the entire print value chain," explained VDP President Schaur. The recovered paper use rate of the German paper industry grew from 78 to 79% in 2020. From the membershipPfleiderer Specialty Papers relies on climate-neutral steam supplyThe Pfleiderer Spezialpapiere paper mill has commissioned GETEC to plan and build a new climate-neutral energy supply system for its site in Teisnach. In the future, the entire plant of the manufacturer of specialty papers will be supplied with heat from a modern biomass heating plant. Operation of the new energy supply is scheduled to start in July 2022. The new investment will save over 27,000 metric tons of CO2 per year in the future and generate almost climate-neutral steam for production. Pfleiderer Spezialpapiere mill in Teisnach "We are pleased to be able to make an important contribution to the expansion of alternative energies and the energy transition with the implementation of the new power plant concept. With GETEC, we have had the right partner at our side for years. Sustainability and climate protection are just as much a part of our self-image as the quality standards of our papers. Overall, this investment underlines our consistent focus on the resource-conserving production of high-quality specialty papers. In conjunction with the development and use of alternative fiber concepts and bio-based barriers, we are creating a basis for the development of particularly sustainable and environmentally friendly packaging solutions," explains Andreas Noack, Managing Director of Pfleiderer Teisnach GmbH & Co. KG. With a capacity of 15 MWth, the biomass heating plant will produce up to 22 tons of process steam per hour for the production of high-quality specialty papers. Forest chips and natural waste wood will be used as fuels. Entrepreneurial family Krengel establishes WEPA FoundationThe long-term promotion of charitable initiatives in the fields of hygiene, ecological and social sustainability, lifelong learning and family entrepreneurship is the aim of the newly established WEPA Foundation based in Arnsberg. The foundation was established by the Krengel family of entrepreneurs in order to make a long-term contribution to society in these subject areas beyond the work of family entrepreneurship. Congratulations!Nico Haibach was awarded as best paper engineer of the year 2019. Mr. Haibach studied "Paper Science and Technology" at the Technical University of Darmstadt and graduated with the grade "very good". f.l.t.r.: Professor Samuel Schabel, TU Darmstadt, Chair of Paper Technology and Mechanical Engineering (PMV), Nico Haibach, Andre Müller, Managing Director Vereinigung der Arbeitgeberverbände der Deutschen Papierindustrie e.V. (VAP) During his studies, he worked as a research assistant at the PMV department, completed various internships in the paper industry and actively supported the ZELLCHEMING association as a student trainee. In addition, he was active in the Academic Paper Engineers Association Darmstadt (APV) and also held offices there. In his master's thesis, Mr. Haibach worked on the topic "Fabrication of brick-like structures from paper material and evaluation of their possible applications in building construction", thus making an important contribution to the new research field "Building with paper" at the TU Darmstadt. A warm welcome!We welcome the following new members to the ZELLCHEMING Association:
From the technical committeesDatesDue to the COVID-19 pandemic, the next technical committee meetings will be held virtually:
From the networkFirst virtual Women4Paper eventA year ago we launched the groups: Now we can already welcome more than 200 female industry representatives on social media! As the number of women working in the paper and cellulose fibre-based industry still lags significantly behind many other industries, we chalk this up as a great success. Now we would like to take the Women4Paper community to the next level, with the aim of creating an attractive, internationally oriented network offer for female junior and executive staff in production, science and the supplier industry. As a first step, we invited to the first virtual Women4Paper web event in early February. The well-attended meeting was used to get to know the women in the circle better, but also to discuss directly which topics are particularly close to your hearts and who would like to get more involved in the initiative. Spontaneously, several women have already signed up for the Women4Paper advisory board. We will officially announce the composition mid of March. The second Women4Paper Web Event is scheduled for Monday, 12 April 2021, from 16:00-17:30 hrs CEST (GMT +2). New interested participants may register at info@zellcheming.de for the event. ZELLCHEMING-Expo 2021 NewsletterRegister now for the regular newsletter with current information on ZELLCHEMING-Expo of ZELLCHEMING Service GmbH. Please forward this information also to interested colleagues and partners. You can object to the delivery of our newsletter at any time. Please click on the "Unsubscribe" button. Verein ZELLCHEMING Phone: +49 - (0) 61 50 - 5 44 84 04 Managing Director: Petra Hanke Twitter: @ZELLCHEMING |