Martti Tuomisto

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Meet a Leading Technical Expert in Papermaking

Martti Tuomisto has been a valuable TAPPI Member since 1982. He is Chairman of the Coating Operations Committee as well as a member of the Papermaking Technology and Operations Committee, and the Coating Technical Program Committee for TAPPICon. He initially attended Helsinki University of Technology (Aalto University) in Finland and obtained a Master of Science (M.Sc) in Paper Science and Engineering. Then, he obtained a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from the University of Wisconsin (Oshkosh). Tuomisto is widely recognized as a leading technical expert in papermaking processes. He has a successful record in paper machinery business and product management, papermaking processes, paper grade development and paper grade conversions.Tuomisto’s robust experience in the industry radiates with knowledge and continued passion.
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“We want to provide an environment for mill people to learn from other experts.” – Martti Tuomisto

1. What sparked your interest in Standards?

My experience using Standards started in 1982. I was working for a Finnish company at the time in Marietta, GA. When there were questions about guarantees and meeting process performance criteria in the mills, it was important to know how process values were measured, evaluated and benchmarked based on Standards.

Even though I have used Standards in the past, I have never developed one until now. I’m currently helping a Finnish company called ACA Systems develop several ideas into TAPPI Standards and potentially ISO Standards. So far, they came up with four different ideas, and we’re working with TAPPI to ballot and publish the first one: Work Item (WI) 3036 High Shear Capillary Viscosity (ACA Capillary Viscosity) of coating color on paper and paperboard.

2. What encouraged you to create a new Standard test method?

As mentioned earlier, ACA Systems is behind it; they asked me to help generate TAPPI Standard test methods. ACA Systems develop and supply measuring instruments for coating and papermaking. Recently, they developed a new coating color evaluation technique for coater runability. It is currently used in mills in Europe and North America, and now users are asking, “based on what Standard should I measure?” There isn’t a TAPPI Standard nor an ISO Standard that relates to their methods yet, which is why we are now developing TAPPI Standards so that all mills use similar testing methods or procedures. We already established two balloting rounds with TAPPI for WI 3036 High Shear Capillary Viscosity (ACA Capillary Viscosity) of coating color on paper and paperboard. Once all the comments have been acknowledged and the review has been processed, we will be able to publish it as a TAPPI Standard.

3. What exactly is WI 3036 about?

It is about analyzing coating colors for coater runability. Before the coating color is put on the coater in production, it should be analyzed in a laboratory for runability. It needs to run smoothly through the coater and our first Standard test method can predict it for blade, rod and film transfer type coating. Our next Standard test method (extensional viscosity) will be more specifically for curtain coating. These Standards will be very beneficial for paper mills, because if you place that coating color on the coater without knowing how it runs, it’ll be a struggle. It may lead to sheet breaks and quality issues.

4. What was the process of finding members for WI 3036?

As the Chairman of the Coating Operations Committee and as a member of the Coating Technical Program Committee for TAPPICon, it was easy to obtain members for the Standard-Specific Interest Group (SSIG) team that voted up or down during balloting of WI 3036 High Shear Capillary Viscosity (ACA Capillary Viscosity) of coating color on paper and paperboard review. We have about forty to fifty excellent experts in North America involved in those committee activities. I ended up asking sixteen of those experts to join the SSIG voting team, and no one turned me down. ACA Systems recruited ten additional experts from Finland, Germany and China. We could have had more than twenty-six people join us, but we stopped asking at that point as only 10 SSIG members is the minimum requirement on any Standard balloting.

5. What was the process of writing Draft 1 for WI 3036?

The initial draft was written in Finland, then revised here in the U.S. Major edits had to be done based on expert comments and suggestions that we received from SSIG members. It was a team effort led by the best experts in the field; for example, John Roper, Tony Lyons, Prakash Malla, Gordon Bugg and Greg Welsch to name a few. We answered all comments and incorporated suggestions. I’m now hoping that the updated draft passes to the next step towards publishing.

Current update: Work Item (WI) 3036 High Shear Capillary Viscosity (ACA Capillary Viscosity) of coating color on paper and paperboard will be published by December 2021 as a TAPPI Standard.

6. What is your experience serving as Chair of the Coating Operations Committee and the Calendering Committee?

The Calendering Committee as part of TAPPI’s Finishing Division was huge and influential for decades when the printing paper business was growing fast, and supercalendering was common in printing paper and specialty paper mills. Things started changing in the early 2000s when the printing paper business hit a downturn. Eventually, the Finishing Division was discontinued, and in 2012 the Calendering Committee was incorporated into the Coating Operations Committee under the Coating and Graphics Arts Division. At the same time, the paper production is shifting more towards packaging grades, specialties and tissue papers where coating (if needed) and calendering are both typically done online.

The main functions of committees are developing technical programs, organizing sessions, coordinating speakers, creating papers for conferences, and organizing courses such as the Advanced Coating Materials and Operations course for two days (October 2-3, 2021) preceding TAPPICon. The other functions of committees include developing Technical Information Papers (TIPs) and Standards, publishing technical books, and creating opportunities for members to get involved in TAPPI functions.

I am also a member of the Papermakers Committee, now called the Papermaking Technology and Operations Committee, which is even bigger in membership. For example, we recently had 34 people attend a zoom meeting (the attendance is always good). This is where many TIPs are discussed; the committee currently has hundreds of them. I’ve helped write TIPs a few times, and my experience has been great! It provides reference information to technical people in paper mills; it allows them to know where they are compared to other mills. For example, there are graphs showing what the industry benchmarks are (could be in energy consumption, water consumption, wastewater, vacuum consumption, etc.).

7. What advice would you give someone that has never participated in TAPPI Standards or TIPs?

I would suggest TIP development to young professionals or less experienced individuals, because you learn a lot from working with true experts. 

“The purpose of our Local Section activities is to provide learning and networking opportunities for mill people who don’t get a chance to go to TAPPICon in Atlanta or other big cities.” – Martti Tuomisto

8. What has been your experience serving as a board member of the TAPPI Lake States / North Central PIMA Local Section?

I’ve been a board member of the TAPPI Lake States Local Section for the last 11 years. We organize technical sessions and other activities. For example, we conduct the Energy Forum every fall and a maintenance conference or other type of technical meeting every spring. Due to the pandemic, we have had virtual sessions as opposed to in-person sessions. TAPPI Lake States Local Section also organizes golf outings and clay shoots in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and soon in Michigan. The purpose of our local meetings is to provide learning and networking opportunities for mill people who don’t get a chance to go to TAPPICon in Atlanta or other big cities. They can easily attend local events, since those are usually within a driving distance from their mill.  We cover innovations, energy, maintenance, grade conversions, process controls, safety and other practical issues that mill people are interested in. We want to provide an environment for mill people to learn from other experts.

Another purpose for the TAPPI Lake States Local Section is to raise money and invest for the purpose of providing scholarships to paper science and engineering students at local universities. For example, we provide scholarships to the University of Wisconsin (Stevens Point), which has a combined Paper Science and Chemical Engineering program. Also, to the University of Minnesota, which has a bioengineering program that involves some aspects of papermaking, plus to Western Michigan University and Fox Valley Technical College. Basically, just about all our funds will eventually go into scholarships. 

9. Tell us a bit about yourself? (Hobbies, education, and passion)

I was born and raised in Finland, which is where I started my paper industry career. Since then, I have lived in the United States for about 40 years. I began my career in Marietta, GA, then moved to Wisconsin, North Carolina, and back to Wisconsin where I currently live.

In terms of education, I initially attended Helsinki University of Technology (Aalto University) in Finland and obtained a Master of Science (M.Sc) in Paper Science and Engineering. Then, I obtained a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from the University of Wisconsin (Oshkosh).

I’ve been in the paper industry since 1976. My interest in the field started in high school during my Chemistry class. At that time, papermaking was very popular in Finland. And it still is, even though the focus has shifted from printing papers to paperboard, and bioengineering involving pulping in some manner. Helsinki University of Technology (Aalto University) is the best university specializing in those.

I love sports of course! I live in Appleton, Wisconsin, which is in “America’s Packerland”, and everyone is a Green Bay Packers fan here. Green Bay is only 25 miles north. Packers is the only National Football League (NFL) team that doesn’t have a single wealthy owner, but has shareholders instead (377,000 shareholders at that). With that many shareholders who are fans, Packers will never move out of Green Bay nor re-locate to a bigger city (laughs). Since 1921, Packers have won the most world championships in the NFL, including the Super Bowl four times. I also love cross-country skiing every winter here in Wisconsin. It reminds me of Finland with lots of snow. Lastly, I like to go running too!

10. Is there anything you want to add about your experience with TAPPI and the Paper Industry?

TAPPI and a few other organizations are working hard to change the perception of the paper industry within communities. There’s still a lot of misconception about the industry over cutting trees, polluting the air and water, but that is not so much of a reality anymore. We need to continuously work on educating people. Nowadays, many paper companies are changing the way they utilize wood resources and pulping by-products as biomaterials for many different end-uses. For example, Finland started up one huge “bio-product mill” and is now building another similar mill over 2 million tons per year for the purpose of developing and utilizing pulping by-products to the maximum extent, while the main product stream is still paper-grade market pulp. Traditionally, pulp mills produce a lot of energy by burning the black liquor as only 45-50% of wood raw material comes out as pulp fiber and the rest is typically utilized in energy production.

11. If you could describe the value of TAPPI membership in one word, what would it be?

Networking! I have met so many people through committees, conferences, courses, and technical events. The other important aspect of TAPPI membership is continuously learning about new innovations, mill operations and other technical matters.

Interview conducted/ written by Souadou Camara
Assisted by Mary Anne Cauthen

Special thanks to Editor in Chief: Janet LoBue

Thank you, Martti Tuomisto for your contribution to TAPPI!

If you would like to share your experience with Standards, TIPs or U.S. TAG to ISO TC 6, please write to standards@tappi.org and the TAPPI Standards team will be happy to interview you.

TAPPI Standards guidelines require that all TAPPI members receive notification of any proposed new Standard or TIPs. This message is being sent to you because you are a TAPPI member; have purchased TIPs or Standards products from TAPPI; or because you have previously expressed interest in this topic.

TAPPI is the leading technical association for the worldwide pulp, paper and converting industry.
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