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Robert Olah, CEO Myllykoski North America, recently addressed the sustainable manufacturing activities at Myllykoski for the CSBA.
What are the products of the Myllykoski group and who are your customers?
We sell wood-containing and recycled fiber publication papers including newsprint, to publishers, printers and catalog producers worldwide. Myllykoski is the third largest producer of supercalendared papers (SC Paper) in the world and is among the top five in coated mechanical grades. A product line of specialty papers has been developed at our Alsip facility as well.
Your facility in Alsip manufactures recycled-content paper. What is the source of the fiber?
90% of the fiber used in Alsip is a combination of pre and post consumer recovered fiber. The post consumer fiber comes from old magazines and newspapers collected from residential recycling programs, or from newsstands with excess product. All of the recovered fiber that we use is collected from the greater Chicago area and therefore redirected from a landfill and turned into a new usable product. The other 10% of our paper is what they call “virgin kraft”. This is supplied from pulp producers and we buy “certified” kraft when possible.
Myllykoski has roots dating back to 1892. What initiated the transition to producing recycled content paper?
Since the early 1970s, Myllykoski has been developing its knowledge-base for the use of recycled fiber. In 1970 Myllykoski joined a group of Finnish paper companies with the intention of establishing a common de-inking plant for the recycling of valuable raw material back to paper mills. The Myllykoski mill in Finland thus started to use small quantities of recycled fiber in its products. The collection rate in Finland is high but the total quantities of recycled fiber remain low due to the fact that the relatively small population of Finland does not enable large scale return of printed materials, and import of waste paper has not been economical.
A new era of recycled fiber with Myllykoski began in the mid 1980s when Myllykoski acquired a German paper mill. Myllykoski had decided to enter the market close to the customers, which enabled expansion of the raw material base to include recycled fiber. At that point, recycled fiber was used mainly for newsprint production. The market existed for recycled products and served as an economical incentive.
Soon after, Myllykoski started to develop recycled fiber technology to be used in higher paper grades as well. Our customers include large printing houses, which use lower quality magazine grade paper. One of the challenges with recycled fiber for higher grade paper, was the low brightness of the de-inked pulp. Myllykoski developed new processes and even acquired state-of-the-art technology from Japan in order to overcome this problem. Myllykoski also introduced technology that created a new standard for a certain grade of 100% recycled paper, and continued to lead the development of technology and implementation that enabled the use of recycled fiber. Today, the largest user of recycled fiber in Switzerland is a mill owned by Myllykoski.
Since 2000, the interest in "urban forests" has grown simultaneously with the increasing demand for “environmentally friendly” recycled papers. Based on its experience Myllykoski decided to enter the US market with a new concept of a suburban mill producing 100% recycled content high quality coated publication grades. The Alsip mill in Chicago area was modernized and equipped to produce such grades.
Myllykoski has broadened its recycled content product offering to cover most of the printing and publishing grades. The Myllykoski group strives to be a major supplier of high quality publication grades based on both virgin fiber and recovered paper in the US and in Europe. We use recycled paper as often as possible, but efficient recycling still requires a constant source of fresh fiber, since wood fiber will bear only 6-7 cycles until it is unusable for paper manufacturing.
What have been some of the challenges of the transition – educating the market about paper quality, technical challenges in the manufacturing process, or other?
We fought all of a lot of quality problems with a combination of technology and improved production methods, but fundamentally, there is a marked difference between pre and post consumer waste when it comes to the quality of the fiber and its suitability for production. The development of collection systems is increasing the availability of post consumer waste and simultaneously improving its quality.
Taking the ink out of reclaimed fiber produces also a considerable amount of sludge and a suitable solution has to be found for its disposal or further use. Myllykoski has succeeded in supplying the sludge to industrial partners who are able to use it in the production of lightweight and porous bricks or as a landfill cover, as is done in suburban Chicago. From an economic point of view it’s important to remember that the recycled paper market and the price of paper waste are highly volatile because the market is increasingly subject to international trade.
| What other sustainability activities does the company undertake its facilities? | |
Myllykoski's mills in Finland, Germany and Switzerland have been active proponents of certified quality and environmental management systems and of a comprehensive approach towards sustainability issues. Myllykoski also promotes forest certification based on independent third party verification and aims at increasing the share of certified wood in its paper products. Energy efficiency is of utmost importance to reduce fossil fuel consumption as well as reduce CO2 emissions. Mitigating climate change is an important challenge, and this is reflected in Myllykoski's new energy strategy and its goals to further improve energy efficiency. The paper industry binds CO2 while the forests are growing: when forests are managed sustainably the trees recycle carbon from the atmosphere. |
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What is your sustainability vision for the manufacturing facility in Alsip?
Reduction of volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions to minimize ozone and smog precursors is a very important community effort for the mill. In 2006 we took on significant investment to reduce emissions as well as conserve water and reduce effluent, which improved operating practices and material efficiency and therefore cut raw material costs. The mill also reduced air emissions, reused waste oils and other solid wastes, and is currently developing an ISO 14001 Environmental Management System.
The Alsip mill also recently embarked on a concentrated effort to produce Specialty Paper Products with a high level of de-inked recovered paper fibers. Technical success is evolving in grades traditionally produced from 100% primary fibers and will set a new standard for the production of recycled content paper in North America
How do your Finnish roots affect your North American operations with regard to environmental protection?
The pulp and paper industry has always enjoyed an important status in Finnish economy. Environmental protection too has a long tradition in Finland covering activities from forestry to watercourses and air emissions. The EU legislation has further stressed the need to take the environment into consideration in business management. It has affected our customers as well who have high expectations for our ability to solve not only our own problems but help our customers too. Furthermore, Myllykoski is a family business with a strong commitment to sustainability, and is focused on its reputation of conducting business in a responsible manner.
The Finnish forest industry has also benefited to a large extent from the strong forest cluster that has brought technology providers together to address efficient technologies and common development activities. Finland has invested a lot in education at various levels, including high level university programs, directed to the pulp and paper industry. We have a long history of technical know how and a commonly shared interest in protecting the environment.
Is there anything else you would like to share about the history or vision of the company for sustainability?
The Myllykoski Corporation has a long history in the forest industry - the company celebrates 115 years of operations in 2007. A comprehensive approach towards sustainability is fundamental for our industry given its direct connection to renewable raw materials. For us, sustainability is about economic, social and environmental responsibility in everything we do. The forest-based sector plays a key role in the evolution to a sustainable society. Innovative and sustainable use of forest resources and renewable raw materials is of utmost importance. The paper industry acknowledges its responsibility and is active in developing and designing products and services that respond to society’s needs.
