November 2020
Strategic & Financial Arguments (TM)
for the pulp and paper industry worldwide
Participating as industry experts in pulp and paper financing and M & A deals around the world for nearly three decades, we continue to see the same mistakes made over and over. This newsletter is designed to help you avoid costly mistakes we have seen others make. We will be giving you one or two points each month to help improve your performance.
 
The election is over, now what?


The election in the United States is over. What does this portend for the pulp and paper industry. Here are my quick thoughts:

  1. Products...we'll continue down the path of more earth-friendly packaging. This means more recycling (for those areas not already reaching theoretical limits), less plastics, less glass. Likely more aluminum, in fact, the bevcan people have already announced massive expansion plans. For us pulp and paper folks, all those cans are going to need some sort of packaging--people do not want to carry them out of the store as singles.
  2. Energy...What will the "Green New Deal" or the "Green New Deal Light" mean for energy sources in pulp and paper mills? Are recovery boilers doomed? There are still plenty of coal and gas boilers left, too. What will happen here?
  3. Employees...Gentler and kinder are the watchwords for how one treats employees. It will be a challenge in the future to not let social correctness get in the way of productivity. Which will lead to...
  4. More implementation of Industry 4.0. I recently heard a speech by a Georgia Pacific mid level manager who said they have installed 50,000 sensors and instruments company-wide since the start of Covid-19. This is not all there is to Industry 4.0, but it is a major piece. In your analysts' meetings, it wouldn't hurt to ask companies what they are doing to implement Industry 4.0.
If you have a casual question or a major deal, call me on my personal cell phone - 404-822-3412 or email me at jthompson@taii.com or jim.thompson@ipulpmedia.com. We are here to help.

 
Sincerely,
 
Bankers Engineer
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