Tissue Day Event – Benefits NC State and Companies alike.

Fiber Sourcing, Fiber Development, Market Trends and more…

The second ever Tissue Day event was hosted by NC State January 24 and 25 with roughly 200 industry professionals, from more than 68 companies in attendance. The symposium was organized by Dr. Ronalds Gonzalez, Assistant Professor of Supply Chain and Conversion Economics and co-director of the Tissue Pack Innovation Lab at NC State. The purpose of the Tissue Day event was to bring industry professionals together to discuss challenges and threats in current fiber sourcing operations, as well as to provide a perspective of what can be expected over the next 10 years. Big name paper companies like Georgia-Pacific, International Paper, Kimberly-Clark, and Domtar were present at this year’s event to learn about topics such as fiber sourcing, fiber development, market trends, and nanotechnology applications in the tissue industry. Allies of the pulp and paper industry were also represented by companies like Solenis, Novozymes, and Kemira.

Hosting events like the Tissue Day Symposium benefits both NC State and companies in the industry. The industry brings challenges and problems faced in the real world, to NC State, who then dedicates research specific to solving these problems. In turn, NC State is able to demonstrate the high-quality research capabilities of the College of Natural Resources, more specifically, the Department of Forest Biomaterials. When asked about research currently being conducted at NC State, Carolina Zuluaga, a graduate student in the Department of Forest Biomaterials, had this to say: “The research at NC State is trying to address different problems in the tissue and hygiene industry. That includes defining some of  properties and establishing standards for it. On the other hand, our research is bringing together research and economics which contributes to more assertive decisions regarding raw material selection, processes and manufacturing.” As far as the Paper Science and Engineering program at NC State is concerned, having companies attend university events gives students an opportunity to network, as well as giving the industry an insight into the resources students need to become effective professionals.

Presenting….The Tissue Pack Innovation Lab

An exciting part of this year’s event was the presentation of the Tissue Pack Innovation Lab consortium, which provides companies in the tissue industry with technical support. Companies will bring the central challenges in the industry to the Innovation Lab where research dedicated to those problems can be conducted. The consortium will be funded by a number of different companies in the tissue and hygiene industry. The Tissue Pack Innovation Lab is co-directed by three faculty from the Department of Forest Biomaterials, Drs.  Joel Pawlak, Ronalds Gonzalez, and  Lokendra Pal.

By Guest blogger: Matt Burleson