Now more than halfway through its mandate, the Chinese Year of the Pig is said to bring about many changes in its wake, changes at all levels. According to predictions1, the year symbolizes the elemen…
Now more than halfway through its mandate, the Chinese Year of the Pig is said to bring about many changes in its wake, changes at all levels. According to predictions1, the year symbolizes the element Fire sitting over Water. Both these elements are direct opposites and with their conflicting relationship, cannot co-exist. This clash of elements will create conditions for developments and diversification. And so, it has, to both the industry and to our magazine.
The industry has felt the shock waves of the recent mergers and acquisitions; case in point: the transformations of Abitibi-Consolidated/Bowater and Domtar/Weyerhaeuser. Reassessments are rampant and the news has alternated between temporary closures and retrofits, with a couple of new installations.
But all that is covered in our magazine, whether it be on its pages or the website, with the highlights arriving by Webnews Alerts to those who have signed up to this service through the Internet.
In this issue, we cover a new program at Minas Basin Pulp & Power in Nova Scotia which has fine-tuned the equipment management through a revamped preventive maintenance program. Changes brought in through this, included a revamped schedule of maintenance that reduced the materials and labour budget in its pulp preparation area by 35% since 2003. This system is gaining popularity as mills are continuously trying to tighten their budgets.
Changes have also been made to one of the industry’s premier events as a result of the brainstorming that has been taking place at the Pulp & Paper Technical Association headquarters here in Montreal. Through deep research and consultation done by the PAPTAC staff, Executive Council and Committees, including the EXFOR committee, a consensus was reached for the improvement of PaperWeek International 2008. I was present at some of the deliberation that took place and can attest to the careful planning and consideration given to make this PaperWeek more responsive to the needs of the people in the industry. The improved format was described in the PaperWeek supplement that was sent out last month within the magazine and distributed widely in the United States. Just in case you did not retain all that information, a summary would include:
* Condensed program (2 1/2 days)
* Inclusion of a business track
* High calibre, practical technical sessions (sessions, panels, round table discussions)
* Better conditions for networking (meetings will be held within the exhibition hall)
* Revamped fee schedule (affordable rates which include tickets to the Opening Reception and two luncheons)
* Leading edge technologies on display
* Industry Plenary Session.
No wonder PaperWeek International 2008 is being marketed as “A Bridge to the Future”.
Janarrdhana Guptha is an Energy Consultant, Kabbalah Energy Numerologis
There are some other changes that have taken place behind the scenes which concern me directly, here at the Pulp & Paper Canada office. Last month, I spoke of the need for an assistant editor and the hope that someone would step up from the industry, and apply for that position. This month, in a sudden turn of events, I have to mention that this position is no longer available. However, the position of editor or editor-in-chief, which I have been fortunate to hold for the past six years, will be vacant in the near future. Due to circumstances, I will soon be moving out of North America and, since I believe strongly that the person holding this position should be available on site as well as closely plugged into the developments within Canada, as well as those in our neighbour to the south, we are now looking for candidates to lead the magazine and its sister publications.
I will remain at the post for the next couple of months but want to take this opportunity to say, thank you for the great experience of getting to know and understand the industry better.
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