Features Workforce
Top 10 Under 40: Meet Benjamin Phaneuf from Kruger

The next generation of leaders in Canada’s pulp and paper industry are striving hard to build a resilient future. The winners of the 2023 Top 10 Under 40 program are constantly raising the bar for their peers with their forward-thinking initiatives and their zeal to make a lasting difference. The future of the industry is in the secure hands of these young professionals who not only take ownership of their responsibilities but contribute beyond what is expected of them.

The winners this year work in different roles and capacities within the industry, but share some key characteristics – strong work ethic, commitment to their roles and a desire to innovate and improve.

This week we introduce Benjamin Phaneuf, senior manager of engineering at Kruger in Montreal, Que.

Benjamin Phaneuf was recently promoted to the position of senior manager, of engineering at Kruger. In his previous role as project studies manager, Phaneuf led the detailed development and study, including scope, definition and cost estimates, for two of the company’s most important initiatives of the last few years. These are the construction of a tissue paper plant in Sherbrooke, Quebec, and of a packaging plant in Elizabethtown, Kentucky. Phaneuf’s cost estimates for these projects and others are widely recognized inside the company and by outside engineering firms as impressively accurate.

His success in project development comes from his passion for details, his thoroughness and his desire to incorporate new technologies. Deemed a great leader by his colleagues, he brings together people from all sectors to collaborate and advance at the same pace so that deliverables are met.

Phaneuf also has a curious mind and constantly seeks out new opportunities to learn. Aside from taking part in PaperWeek Canada and attending numerous trade shows, he is continuously on the lookout for new technologies. He actively seeks out information from manufacturers and vendors. All projects led by Phaneuf which include automation, for example, advanced controls, and autonomous vehicles and palletizers, are designed to be at the forefront of health and safety initiatives.

Being a former operation and maintenance manager at Kruger Energy, Phaneuf actively promotes the use of renewables in Kruger’s pulp and paper projects. This translates into the use of steam, produced from recycled materials in Kruger’s cogeneration facility to replace natural gas in its tissue plant in Sherbrooke.