COMPETENCE IN PAPER

Newsletter

March 2023

From the association

Well on the way

Dear members and friends of ZELLCHEMING,

In line with the longer becoming days as the spring begins in this month's calendar, we would first like to look at the still positive development of ZELLCHEMING-Expo 2023: Both in terms of content planning as well as the exhibitors' commitments are well on their way!

The program is almost complete except for a few slots. We especially would like to highlight the session of our technical committee DATA, "Digitalization - Artificial Intelligence", moderated by Dr. Joachim Schaffrath, TU Darmstadt, PMV, which has been finalized already.

What can artificial intelligence do for us?

Speakers include Rosario Othen, RWTH Aachen University, and Christin Joachim, Papier- und Kartonfabrik Varel, who will report on "Data hackathons for and with students - added value for everyone". Olav Dau, Bellmer, together with Matthias Schmitt, Voith Digital, will talk about the use of "Augmented Reality in the Paper Industry," while Dr. Michael Hunold of Steinbeis, together with Dr. Philip Gerstner of Felix Schoeller and Dr. Jörg Padberg of Koehler Paper, will conclude the chapter, which is as relevant as it is exciting, with practical reports from production facilities.

"We are already looking forward to the presentations and would like to thank the technical commitee DATA for the excellent preparation," says Dr. Ernst-Ulrich Wittmann, Chairman of the ZELLCHEMING Association.

Significant increase in exhibitors expected

The booked space of almost 1,700 sqm is also higher compared to the same period of last year. Our partner agency in event management expects an overall increase of almost 20% in exhibitors and co-exhibitors. "We appreciate the indication of expected significant growth for the Expo," says Petra Hanke, Managing Director of ZELLCHEMING Service GmbH. "We attribute this to the positive effect of the external service agency we opted for in fall and see ourselves confirmed. At the same time, together with the association, we are stepping up activities to increase the number of visitors and I am very confident that we will succeed."

Workshop Compliance

As announced in the last main committee meeting, we are organizing a workshop on the topic of compliance and dealing with ZELLCHEMING's current antitrust regulations. We invite all chairpersons to an online meeting on March 17, 2023 from 11:00 to 12:30 hrs.  

The workshop will be conducted by attorney at law Dr. Markus Wiedemann. He is a specialist attorney for industrial property rights at the law firm Zirngibl. In preparation for the meeting, we ask the chairpersons to send us questions and/or discussion points that currently arise in committee work by March 10, 2023. For those who cannot attend in person, we will record the workshop and make it available digitally afterwards.

Awards 2023

The honorary committee has agreed on which deserving ZELLCHEMING members will be awarded the Hans-Clemm-Medal, the Georg-Jayme-Medal and the Eugen-Lendholt-Medal this year. The laudators have also already been determined. "Of course, we will not reveal any details at this point," says Ernst-Ulrich Wittmann. "But we are very much looking forward to presenting these important honors, which illustrate a special commitment to our industry, at Expo 2023!"

We are pleased to welcome new members this month again!

We welcome to the ZELLCHEMING association:

• Shigeji Matsuzawa, Mitsubishi HiTec Paper Europe GmbH
• Jörg Mauel, Mauel Sicher Arbeiten
• Dr.-Ing. Tobias Wolfinger, Technikum Laubholz GmbH

Dates

• 21-22 March 2023
  Meeting Technical Committee Recovered Paper Utilization (RECO) and sub-committee Recycling Technology (TECH)
• 23 March 2023
  Meeting Technical Committee Pulp and Paper Testing (DATA)
• 30 March 2023
  Meeting Technical Committee Chemical Additves (CHAD)
• 04-05 April 2023
  Meeting Technical Committee Paper Making (PMAK)
• 27-28 April 2023
  Meeting Technical Committee Plant Engineering and Energy (ENEN)
• 10 May 2023
  Meeting Technical Committee Paperboard Technology (PBTC)
• 20-22 June 2023
  ZELLCHEMING-Expo

From industry & society

Annual balance 2022: German paper industry defies difficult market conditions

The German pulp and paper industry demonstrated relative strength last year in a challenging environment. That is the industry's association DIE PAPIERINDUSTRIE conclusion in its annual report.  After the Corona catch-up year of 2021, production fell by 6.5% to 21.6 million tons, but was thus back at the long-term pre-crisis level. The number of employees was maintained. A fair wage agreement jointly supported by the social partners also contributed to this, he said.

"Many companies had to adjust their production to the gas volumes still purchased at normal prices and the lower demand at the end of the year due to previous stockpiling by customers," said Winfried Schaur, president of the association, explaining the decline in volumes. The increased energy and raw material costs had been passed on to the product prices. That is reflected in the 36.3% increase in sales to 21.2 billion euros. Schaur stressed that the industry contributed to the transformation to CO2-neutral production despite the difficult situation. "We are continuing to work intensively on the future paper industry. However, we also need the appropriate political framework conditions, such as a temporary industrial electricity price, to maintain international competitiveness during the transition period.”

Latest Cepi statistics: High energy prices and declining economic growth weigh on paper industry in 2022

Preliminary statistics for 2022 published by Cepi, the European paper industry association, show the impact of high energy prices and slowing EU and global economic growth. However, the sector can benefit from positive long-term trends that could be accelerated by the EU's Green Deal industrial plan.

Paper consumption in Europe remained stable in 2022, which is a sign of resilience given the current economic slowdown in Europe. At the same time, production of paper and board declined by 5.9% year-on-year in 2022, according to preliminary figures released. A decline in production was also observed in all other regions of the world, including most of the EU's main competitors in the sector.

The combined trend of declining production and stable consumption led to a deterioration in the sector's trade balance against a backdrop of increased global competition. The weakness in paper production seen in the second half of the year was largely due to high energy and raw material costs in Europe, which led to a temporary standstill in machinery.

The slowdown in economic growth in the EU in the second half of 2022 and the opening of the paper industry to global markets, where growth has also stalled, have also contributed to this downward trend and the temporary decline in competitiveness. However, the European paper sector has traditionally been a strong exporter and its trade balance remains positive.

Download the preliminary Cepi statistics 2022: https://www.cepi.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Cepi_Preliminary-statistics-2022_15022023.pdf

DIE PAPIERINDUSTRIE: EU packaging regulation jeopardizes own ecological goals

The EU's plans for a packaging regulation jeopardize the ecological goals that have been set. The association DIE PAPIERINDUSTRIE warns of this. It said the paper industry and packaging manufacturers support the European Commission's intention to minimize the environmental impact of packaging and packaging waste. "However, giving blanket priority to reusable packaging runs counter to the idea of a circular economy," explained the association's chief executive, Alexander von Reibnitz. "Ecologically beneficial packaging made of paper, cardboard and carton would be forced out of the market and replaced by fossil packaging. To achieve the regulation's goal, both must be treated equally."

Implementing the planned reusable targets would result in a significant proportion of recyclable paper and cardboard packaging being replaced by plastic packaging, the association said in a press statement. This would contradict the EU's circular economy action plan, which states that all packaging must be recyclable or reusable by 2030, i.e. that there is an equivalence between recycled and reusable packaging.

From the membership

Strategical partnership

UPM Biochemicals and Haertol, both headquartered in Germany, have agreed to form a strategic partnership to produce a new range of carbon neutral engine and battery coolants that will help automotive manufacturers reduce their CO2 footprint.

UPM is investing 750 million Euros to build the world’s first industry scale biorefinery in Leuna, Germany, to convert sustainably sourced, certified woody biomass into next generation biochemicals that will enable the vital shift away from fossil-based to renewable materials across a wide range of industries, including automotive. The biorefinery aims to produce 220,000 tonnes annually in total, with start-up targeted to take place by the end of 2023.

Haertol, a leading engine and battery coolant manufacturer in Europe, will be one of the first customers to integrate the renewable materials into their products.

OceanCoat P: Voith launches new roll cover for coating mating rolls

To complement the proven OceanCoat roll cover, ZELLCHEMING member company Voith has now developed OceanCoat P. The new roll cover is specially designed for demanding positions in coating counter rolls. The new roll cover is specially designed for demanding positions in coating counter-roll applications. Due to the new composition of the polyurethane and the unique filler concept, OceanCoat P is optimally adapted to the requirements of stable profile conditions and highest wear resistance.

According to the manufacturer, OceanCoat P is proven to be highly resistant to overpressing. Due to the resistant polymer matrix, which is enriched with fillers, a constant reference surface with very high abrasion resistance can be guaranteed. This is an important advantage in coating counter roll applications, as paper breaks in standard covers can lead to overpressing and shorten the cover life. Another key advantage of OceanCoat P is its high chemical resistance. All properties increase roll run time, simplify operations and thus increase machine production.

"We are very satisfied with OceanCoat P. After six months in use, the roll is still in very good condition," confirms Markus Krall, Production Manager Coating & Finishing Line 4 at Norske Skog Bruck. "The running time, which is normally 180 days in this position, and shows wear especially in the edge area, was achieved without any problems. OceanCoat P shows no wear and is used without regrinding."

From the network

First Women4Paper online meeting 2023

During an online meeting of the Women4Paper group, the 20+ participants discussed, among other things, the keynote for the network's face-to-face meeting at the ZELLCHEMING-Expo on June 22, 2023, at the RheinMain CongressCenter (RMCC) in Wiesbaden.

"Two possible speakers have been defined and prioritized, and as soon as a commitment is received, we will announce further details," says Petra Hanke, who chaired the meeting. "In any case, the focus will be on diversity."

In addition, it was discussed that all three teams that competed in the pilot year of the ZELLCHEMING Women4Paper Mentoring Program will share their experiences during the newly introduced Career Day on June 22, 2023 at the ZELLCHEMING-Expo.

All participants expressed their wish to meet online more regularly (4 times a year) in the future, each focusing on a themed presentation. Suggestions for (technical) topics will be collected until the end of March, the ideas will then be discussed on the occasion of the next meeting.

If you would like to join the Women4Paper group, please send an e-mail to: c.gembus@zellcheming.de.

Literature

Wastewater of the pulp and paper industry

A revised and supplemented new version (version 5.05) of the 5th edition of the book "Wastewater of the Pulp and Paper Industry" by ZELLCHEMING member Dr. Christian H. Möbius, 5th edition, December 2017, revision December 2022 (version 505), is now available for free download.

Due to changes in the text and insertions of new text sections (e.g. 5.3.2.8), page numbers have shifted, so it is necessary to reprint the entire text.

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