News
Introducing some of our contributors throughout the year

While Pulp & Paper Canada brings you many technical and scientific papers written by experts from mills, research organizations and suppliers around the world, we would like to acknowledge our reg…

While Pulp & Paper Canada brings you many technical and scientific papers written by experts from mills, research organizations and suppliers around the world, we would like to acknowledge our regular feature contributors throughout the year. Here are some of the authors who gather information on varied subjects and deliver articles designed to assist those involved in the management and operation of the pulp and paper industry. These include:

Perry J. Greenbaum, Contributing Editor

Perry is a Canadian who has, for the past few years, lived in the United States but plans to return to Montreal soon. He has been an important part of Pulp & Paper Canada since he joined in 1996. Combining his skills and knowledge as a mechanical engineer and prize-winning author, he brings a strong understanding of the technical side to many of the articles in the magazine.

Perry shares his time with two children and, most importantly, a very understanding wife in rural New Hampshire. His writing focuses on the large picture; for example, seeing how global socio-economic and political conditions affect the industry. Since starting with PPC, Perry says that one of the chief joys of his profession is receiving mail, so please write with any article ideas of thoughts to pjgreenbaum@gmail.com.

Zsolt Patakfalvi, Facts, Figures & Faces

Hungarian-born Zsolt Patakfalvi is a graduate of Broadcast Journalism and Communications Studies from Montreal’s Concordia University. He spent the first 15 years of his career writing for and producing television programs for Montreal’s CTV flagship station, CFCF. “Whether it is in print or on video, I have always been intrigued by what people have to say,” admitted Zsolt. “As a journalist, I pride myself in my ability to listen.”

He joined the Pulp & Paper Canada team six years ago. In 2002, he initiated the column Facts, Figures & Faces, a monthly profile of significant members of the industry. “I have had the privilege of meeting some of the most dedicated papermakers in our country,” he said. “To record their thoughts in print seems fitting, especially at a time when the industry is confronting some challenging times.” Zsolt encourages you to contact him at zsolt@pulpandpapercanada.com.

John E. Little, Safety Matters

Drawing on over 20 years experience in safety management, John Little writes many of the monthly safety columns entitled Safety Matters in PPC. As a graduate in mechanical engineering with a diploma in risk management from McGill University, John has acquired very broad managerial experience during his career.

At Abitibi-Price and Canada Post, he had corporate responsibility for occupational health, safety, environmental and security systems. The OHS Management systems he introduced at Abitibi-Price were especially successful in reducing accidental losses.

At the present time he is developing new approaches and software tools directed at the optimization of OHS Management Systems. Above all, John’s approach emphasizes total employee involvement in detecting and managing workplace hazards and risks.

“The time to shoot a skunk is when you see it!” – Anonymous. The same logic applies to workplace hazards!

SMO, as well as project technical and financial risk management, are now John’s specialty and prime area of expertise. John can be reached at jelittle@videotron.ca.

Cindy Hunter, Safety Matters

Cindy Hunter is the Program/Communications Specialist for the Pulp & Paper Health & Safety Association (PPHSA) in Ontario, where she splits her time between developing training programs related to occupational health and safety, writing corporate communications and developing marketing materials. In her spare time (what little there is) she contributes articles for the Safety Matters column to Pulp & Paper Canada.

Cindy says she began her health and safety writing career in first grade when she attempted to write a safer version of Humpty Dumpty — ensuring his character recognized fall hazards and reported them to his supervisor immediately.

Cindy is the Editor of PPHSA’s quarterly magazine Health and Safety Guardian. The Guardian is written for everyone in the workplace and covers a broad range of important health and safety issues and industry-specific news. To subscribe, contact PPHSA at (705) 474-7233 or www.pphsa.on.ca.

Dan Davies, Online with Pulp & Paper

Dan has a checkered past, having worked in numerous industries: lumber, oil & gas, chemical manufacturing, mining and environmental treatment. He has been involved in pulp and paper for the past 16 years and enjoys it the most. Working in a home office and travelling frequently, Dan has many opportunities to struggle with the new technologies being developed. To date, his column has covered wide-ranging topics and/or problems such as handheld devices, voice mail jail, e-mail at the mill, cell phones and electronic document flow. Also, he discusses similar problems or issues with so many people, that he welcomes the opportunity to share the results of those discussions through his column Online with Pulp & Paper. He can be reached at dan.davies@degussa.com.

Joe Piccione, Chemical Report

Joe Piccione has been a regular contributor to Pulp & Paper Canada since the early 1990s. He is editor of Camford Chemical Report, a weekly newsletter on Canada’s processing industries. He is also editor of CHEM! Materials, Processing & Control, a quarterly magazine focusing on process equipment and instrumentation.

He has more than 20 years experience tracking developments in pulp and paper technologies and analyzing trends in chemical supply, demand and prices. He has researched and written reports on many of the leading pulping, bleaching and papermaking chemicals, including caustic soda, sodium chlorate, hydrogen peroxide and titanium dioxide.

With his chemical engineering degree and experience, Joe is able to provide valuable insight into the chemical industry and is an ideal candidate to write Pulp & Paper Canada’s annual chemical review.

Alan Procter, FutureViews

Alan Procter has over 30 years experience in the forest products industry and is the former Research Director of MacMillan Bloedel. As a leader in the management of innovation, he specializes in “creative solution” and “foresight intelligence” workshops and has provided services to private and public organizations in North America, South America, and Europe. In his regular column FutureViews, Alan presents ideas and commentary on wide-ranging topics of importance to our industry sector. A common FAQ is “Has future awareness affected clients’ business strategy in a positive way?” — and the answer is always “Yes.” Competitive foresight intelligence does not rely on trend forecast services, but rather on human insight and perception regarding early-warning signals on a mission-critical future business environment. Alan can be reached at futureviews@alanprocter.com.