Wausau Paper Wins Big at PPI Conference
BOSTON — Pulp & Paper International, a leading information provider in the global paper and forest products industry, honored a number of paper industry leaders for their resource-saving products and strategies at the organization’s October 2014 conference in Boston. Wausau Paper, based in Mosinee, Wis., produces a line of away-from-home towel and tissue products, as well as soap and dispensing systems, was one of the event’s big winners.
Wausau Paper accepted the Tissue – Most Innovative Product Award for its DublNature line of 100 percent recycled fiber towels and tissue products for use in educational, health care, hospitality and office settings. First introduced in May 2013, the line of cloth-like towels and tissues is Green Seal-certified and produced on Advanced Tissue Molding System (ATMOS) technology-enabled machinery developed in Heidenheim, Germany and produced at the firm’s plant in Harrodsburg, Ky.
The Tissue – Innovative Product of the Year category was created to highlight “some of the incredibly imaginative work carried out by tissue producers to keep an increasingly demanding consumer happy,” according to a statement by PPI. The award was given on the basis of creativity, inventiveness, price, quality, and the product’s ability to “stand out from the more commoditized products on the market.”
“We are pleased with this recognition from an important voice in the industry. During a challenging period for our company we remained committed to producing the finest 100 percent recycled fiber premium towel and tissue products for the away-from-home segment of the tissue industry,” said Michael C. Burandt, Wausau Paper chairman and CEO. “I’d like to thank our engineering, product de- sign, papermaking, converting and marketing teams, all of whom are responsible for bringing these products to fruition and meeting the high growth demands we continue to experience.”
Matthew L. Urmanski, president and COO, added, “A year into the significant revamping of our product portfolio we again recognize the key role in our success played by the highly engaged network of Wausau Paper distributors. Their call for a broader expression of premium towel and tissue products in the away-from-home market and commitment to the process underwrote our development of the DublNature premium product.”
Other big sustainability winners included Iggesund Paperboard of Sverige, Sweden, which won for Bio Strategy of the Year, and Domtar (Windsor Mill) in Windsor, Canada, which received the Environmental Strategy of the Year award. Mondi Coating Zeltweg GmbH of Zeltweg, Austria and BILT Graphic Paper Products Limited-Bhigwan of Pune, India won the awards for Innovation in Sustainable Packaging and the Water Efficiency Award, respectively.