A few months ago, I visited one of our longtime sustaining member companies, IMERYS. The three individuals in our meeting included Ken Johnson, Business Director, Pigments for Paper North America; Kristina Thompson, Senior Market Analyst, Pigments for Paper Americas; and Ellis Benson, Corporate Accounts Manager.

I was aware of IMERYS prior to my time at TAPPI, but my first up close experience with them was my connection with Phil Jones, Director, Technical Marketing & New Ventures, Pigments for Paper Americas. Phil is a TAPPI Fellow and has served on the TAPPI Board. If you know him and that accent of his, as well as his training and knowledge, you know he instantly makes you realize that you are in the presence of greatness when he speaks. So, you can just imagine my surprise when he spoke at PaperCon08 in Dallas, TX. I had the pleasure of introducing Phil to our audience. I then positioned myself on the edge of my seat to take notes on each and every word that would soon come from the mouth of this industry legend. Phil began his talk with, "Sunshine & Dirt, and that's about all there is to it."

That speech, my friends, led me on my quest to discover more about this company whose corporate headquarters are in Paris, France. IMERYS has nearly 16,000 employees in 47 countries. The company mines industrial minerals in Europe, North and South America, Asia, and Africa, turning these rare resources into value-added solutions that contribute to customer performance in industry and construction.

The four IMERYS business groups are: Minerals for Ceramics, Refractories, Abrasives & Foundry; Performance & Filtration Minerals; Pigments for Paper; and Materials & Monolithics. In the world, IMERYS ranks No. 1 in kaolin for paper, No. 2 in ground calcium carbonate for paper, and No. 3 in precipitated calcium carbonate for paper.

IMERYS practices EHS (Environment, Health & Safety) as an improvement process that aids in the Sustainable Development principles defined by employees and placed into action plans. The company practices strict environmental management and works in harmony with nearby communities.

The group I visited had some excellent suggestions on how TAPPI can better serve our members and how IMERYS plays a part in our industry with its Solutions for the Green Package. This package is fully recyclable by adding coatings that provide an acceptable MVTR, replacing fluorocarbons by utilizing clay coatings (Barrisurf™). As a matter of fact, the IMERYS Barrisurf™ line of products and offshoots are exceeding expectations of this environmentally friendly barrier.

Ken Johnson's points for the State of the Future of our industry and TAPPI were as follows:
• Packaging will never be out of the public eye.
• We need to reconnect with what the paper mills can do with what the end user wants through the suppliers.
• The end user should be involved in this process and TAPPI is uniquely positioned to promote this to the industry.
• Paper with coating barriers that are recyclable will continue to grow.

"Sunshine & Dirt"? Well, I guess you were right, Phil.

For more information on IMERYS, go to www.imerys.com. For more information on TAPPI, go to www.tappi.org.

Until next time...............

Larry

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TAPPI has announced initial members of a multi-industry Advisory Board tasked with guiding conference content for its new BioPro Expo™ event, scheduled for August 24-26, 2010 at the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. The BioPro Expo Advisory Board will combine TAPPI's knowledge of processing wood and wood waste feedstocks with expertise from government and academic entities, technology suppliers, renewable energy consumers and associations in industries with access to a variety of biomass feedstocks, including agricultural, energy crop, forest, pulp and paper, municipal, and food processing.

The Advisory Board will identify case studies, expert panels and technology sessions that focus on realistic options for rapid deployment of bioenergy technologies, as well as those that complement BioPro Expo's extensive tradeshow.

BioPro Expo's conference program is made up of 24 supply, technology and policy-related sessions spread over three days, including sessions from TAPPI's International Bioenergy & Bioproducts Conference (IBBC), which is co-located with BioPro Expo. The initial Advisory Board includes the following organizations and industry experts:

• Alberta Ingenuity Fund -- Chris Dambrowitz, Director, Ingenuity Accelerators Program
• Bioenergy Technologies Quarterly -- Ken Patrick, Editor
• Forest Landowners Association -- Scott Jones, CEO
• Georgia Power -- Charles Scurry, Forest Products Segment Manager
• Jacobs Engineering -- Steve Dowe, Director of Process Technology
• National Renewable Energy Laboratory -- Mark Davis, Principal Scientist
• South Carolina Biomass Council -- Erika Myers, Coordinator, and Thomas French, Bioenergy Manager, Savannah River National Laboratory
• Southeast Agriculture & Forestry Resources Alliance (SAFER) -- Charity Pennock, Project Coordinator
• Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE) -- Anne Blair, Diesel and Bioenergy Program Manager
• TAPPI -- Colleen Walker, Ph.D., Project Manager for BioPro Expo

For more information on becoming a BioPro Expo partner, exhibitor or attendee, visit www.bioproexpo.org.

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Attendees at PaperCon 2010 will hear first-hand about Starbucks Coffee Company's long-term commitment to environmental stewardship and its goal to develop a comprehensive recyclable cup solution. Jim Hanna, Starbucks Director of Environmental Impact, will kick off the conference on Sunday, May 2 in Atlanta with his keynote address: "It Takes a Village -- Starbucks Quest for the Recyclable Cup." Hanna will provide an overview of Starbucks efforts to significantly reduce its environmental footprint through energy and water conservation, recycling and green construction. He will also discuss Starbucks aim to achieve recyclability or compostability.

TAPPI/PIMA's PaperCon is North America's largest pulp and paper conference, bringing together industry leaders and technical experts to explore market trends and the latest technologies for paper, board and tissue making, coating and printing. For the 2010 event, PaperCon will focus on the talent, technology and transformation needed to ensure long-term competitiveness. The May 2-5 gathering in Atlanta, Georgia, offers a unique opportunity to network with colleagues from all aspects of the industry.

PaperCon will feature a comprehensive program of peer selected and peer-reviewed presentations organized by TAPPI and PIMA. New in 2010, PaperCon also includes a Sustainability Forum and Showcase exploring "the science behind sustainability." This one-day forum on Tuesday May 4th is designed for paper and board product managers, technical marketers, merchants and others interested in learning the basics.

The latest information is available at www.papercon.org. PaperCon Sponsorship and Exhibit Opportunities are available by visiting the website or contacting Shane Holt, Exhibit Sales Manager at +1.352.333.3345 or PaperCon@naylor.com.

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The Nominating Committee has recommended a slate of three candidates. Members are encouraged to visit the TAPPI website to review members of the current Board and learn more about the slate of three nominees.

Online voting is fast and easy. Voting began December 1, 2009, and will end on January 15, 2010. Be sure to cast your ballot, which is available online for your convenience -- have your ballot number and TAPPI Member number ready.

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TAPPI has announced the dates and location for its 2010 International Conference on Nanotechnology for the Forest Products Industry as 27-29 September, 2010, in Espoo, Finland. This annual, internationally recognized event brings together leading researchers, industry experts, government representatives, policymakers, and other stakeholders to share advances and challenges related to nanotechnology in the forest products and related industries.

"We are excited to bring the same caliber of information and experts to Finland as we drew to our enormously successful nanotechnology event in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada in 2009," said TAPPI President and CEO, Larry N. Montague. "This is the first time the annual conference has been held outside North America, and attendees that historically come from around the globe will once again gain access to cutting edge nanoscience advances, as well as their implications for product development, new revenue streams, safety, and policy development."

To offer attendees the very latest research and experiences in this emerging field, the 2010 Technical Program Committee invites contributions from participants working with nano-enabled bio-materials, products, and their processing. New perspectives on global opportunities, barriers, and trends are sought to provide a foundation for new research and industrial activities. The organizers also encourage submissions on areas such as law, policy, economics, and environmental health and safety.

Potential presenters should submit abstracts to: nano@tappi.org by 5 March 2010, with extended abstracts due 1 June 2010. Please see www.tappi.org/10Nano for abstract requirements.

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TAPPI has received accreditation as a developer of American national standards through the Executive Standards Council of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). Accreditation by ANSI means that the procedures used by a standards body (TAPPI) in connection with the development of American National Standards meet the Institute's essential requirements.

TAPPI President and CEO Larry N. Montague provided context for the significance of the certification. "As part of TAPPI's turnaround efforts, TAPPI sought outside validation of its long standing Standards Program. This prestigious honor indicates that TAPPI's standards program meets all of the criteria established by ANSI as a developer of industry standards. The certification will allow TAPPI to submit selected standards to ANSI to become American national standards. As the administrator of the U.S. Technical Advisory Group (TAG) to Technical Committee 6 of the International Standards Organization (ISO), TAPPI can now take better advantage of its certified standards program in its participation in developing international standards. This new certification will also help TAPPI as it continues to expand its standards development program to new markets and in areas beyond TAPPI's core of testing methods based on the needs of TAPPI's membership."

TAPPI has long been involved with the development and creation of standards relative to the pulp and paper industry. TAPPI also has TAPPI Technical Information Papers (TIPs), which are documents containing specialized information like data, software, calculations. They are used in the manufacture, evaluation and description of pulp, paper, and related products, written in a standardized format which is readily useable by the industry. Visit this link for more information on TAPPI Standards & TIPs.

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Nominations are open for the following awards:

• PIMA'S Executive of the Year: PIMA's highest honor, traditionally presented to senior-level executives in the pulp, paper or converting industries for excellence in management and outstanding contributions to the industry as a whole.
• Mill Manager of the Year: Recognizes the mill manager who has best demonstrated outstanding leadership, management, and organizational skills leading to improved results at the facility for which he or she is responsible.
• The Brookshire Moore Superintendent of the Year: Recognizes the mill superintendent who has shown high personal standards and professional management qualities that contribute to the betterment of those under their management and in their company.
• Technologist of the Year
• Ray H. Cross Community Service Award
• Delano L. "Del" Boutin Local Section Service Award
• Thomas F. Sheerin, Sr. Service Award
• IT Service Award
• Kenneth H. Phillips Specialist Group Award
• Student of the Year Award

The one-page Nomination Forms are available online, in both a printable PDF format or as an interactive online form. Complete award descriptions are also available online. Honor your peers, coworkers, and managers, and help promote management excellence in our industry, by making your nominations for PIMA Awards.

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Attend the 2010 TAPPI/PIMA Student Summit and find out what's really happening in the pulp and paper and packaging industries directly from professionals challenged with the day-to-day operations. The Student Summit will give you direct interaction with industry leaders for valuable info on employment and career development within the industry.  Program highlights include:

• State-of-the-Industry Address on "Sustainability and Eco-Confusion"
• Effective networking
• The Annual Engineering Challenge
• Job recruitment interviews with hiring companies
• Sessions on job transition and getting the right job
• Area mill tour

Need travel money? TAPPI has two ways to help you cover up to US$500 in travel costs:

1) The Deborah Ann McNutt Memorial Student Summit Stipend: Thanks to the generosity of Hercules, there are four stipends available. Each one will fund up to US$ 500 in travel costs. Requirements and application details are available online. (Apply no later than December 18, 2009.)

2) TAPPI Travel Stipend Drawing: If you would like to enter your name, send your resume to dtrimmer@tappi.org by December 18, 2009 and agree to be interviewed at the Summit. A random drawing will determine the winner of the stipend, and the winner's resume will be reviewed by our participating companies.

Everyone who attends the Student Summit is a winner and here's your chance to be a special winner compliments of TAPPI & PIMA. So mark your calendar and act now while there's still time!

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Share YOUR favorite advice -- about life, business, work or leadership -- by sending in a quote to share with other Over the Wire readers. Email your quote suggestions, along with your name and company information, to mshaw@tappi.org. We value the input of our OTW readers.

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