Back in the dot com bubble at the turn of the century, investors were wringing their hands.  About this time, in the major financial magazines, Hanson, a company from Great Britain that produces building materials (bricks and so forth) started running some ads.  In these ads, they contrasted the products they made with the ethereal products of the dot com businesses that were blowing up left and right.  Hanson correctly pointed out that while not glamorous, their product line was essential.

It may be time for the pulp and paper industry to adopt a similar viewpoint, or at least for investors in the pulp and paper industry to adopt such a viewpoint.  With the stock markets swing as much as 1,000 points a day, up or down, it might be time to remember we are not in such dire straights that anyone is cutting back on their use of bathroom tissue. 

We had our great recession as an industry in the second half of the 1990's.  Today our industry is healthy, vibrant, and, as I mentioned last month, disciplined.  Perhaps a fairly safe place in the storms of Wall Street?

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