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Pulp & Paper, Amazing Improbabilities The emergence of Lincoln, Maine's paper and tissue mill has occurred through a "series of amazing improbabilities," says Keith Van Scotter, President and CEO of Lincoln Paper and Tissue LLC (LP&T). The parent company of the Lincoln mill, Eastern Pulp and Paper Corp. filed for bankruptcy in 2000 and operated that way for more than three years until the owners and creditors were unable to agree on the restructuring plan, at which point the mill shut down in January 2004. A concerted and cooperative effort between new owners, employees, the Governor of Maine and creditors transpired, however, to allow completion of a highly leveraged bankruptcy court sale of the mill. LP&T was created and 320 people were put back to work in a town of just 5000. After one year in operation, a refinancing was completed that provided the capital to construct a new tissue machine. "Restarting the mill required a massive cultural and operational change, and we've taken some body blows on this journey," says LP&T President and CEO Keith Van Scotter, " but we remain focused on continuously improving our business at a faster rate that the competition. An upward trend in business only lasts if you put forth constant effort."... To sustain the mill's upward trend, Van Scotter turned to Multivariable Testing (MVT). Request a reprint of the entire article. Pulp & Paper, Optimization Method Improves Paper, Pulp Processes at Boise Cascade "Becoming a low-cost globally competitive mill requires more than just having the best available equipment. It also requires having he most thorough understanding possible of the endless array of process variables that affect sheet quality. Without such an understanding, changes to a variable that improves one aspect of sheet quality may cost dearly in terms of other sheet properties and overall production expense." "To make its processes as cost and quality efficient as possible, Boise Cascade's Jackson, Ala., mill has used an optimization method known as Multivariable Testing (MVT) since 1996. After a difficult recycle plant startup, the mill began using the 12-step MVT method devised by one of its consultants to improve plant performance." "Predominantly accomplished by mill operators and total quality managers, this method has now been used throughout the mill with great success. One recent MVT project was an optimization of the Jackson mill's state-of-the-art J3 uncoated free-sheet machine that was installed in 1997. This project improved CD stiffness and formation while lowering costs. In the pulping area, a fiber yield optimization has the potential to improve pulp brightness while also achieving cost savings." "...The specific 12-step method used at Boise Cascade was developed by a consulting company called QualPro, and it has been used for the past 20 years for improvements in a variety of industries, ranging from defense to process industries such as chemical and paper..." Request a reprint of the entire article. |
Since 1982, QualPro has used Multivariable Testing (MVT®) with 1000+ companies to test 100,000+ improvement ideas. MVT® tests between 20 and 40 ideas simultaneously, accurately predicting the bottom-line impact of potential process changes in as short as 12 weeks. Take existing process initiatives, like Six Sigma, to a whole new level. All process improvement tools and approaches (TQM, DOE, Six Sigma, Re-Engineering, SPC) can be enhanced through the use of Multivariable Testing® by QualPro.
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QualPro, Inc. • P.O. Box 51984, Knoxville, Tennessee 37950 • 800.500.1722 • 865.927.0491 • 865.927.0495 fax © 2006, All Rights Reserved, QualPro, Inc. |