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Pulp Paper & Logistics
Arne Asplund inducted into the Hall of Fame T
he late Arne Asplund, who was chairman of Defibrator AB in Sweden and developed the
process of semi-chemical pulping, has been inducted into the Paper Industry International Hall of Fame. He was inducted at the 20th
Paper Industry International Hall of Fame dinner held at Appleton, Wisconsin, in October, and a plaque commemorating Asplund was added at the Paper Discovery Center.
Arne Asplund was born at Skon,
Sweden in 1903 and moved to the US in 1923, working at a number of paper companies, including one in Tomahawk, Wisconsin and later enrolled at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, graduating with a BS degree in chemical engineering in 1927. Asplund invented the steam- pressurized refining process,
leading to a key technology for producing thermo-mechanical pulp (TMP) and chemi-TMP, which eventually evolved into a branch of the technology called semi- chemical pulping. Asplund took his process from an
idea, in 1931, through pilot plant research that resulted in the co- founding of Defibrator AB in 1933 to commercialize his process for which he was granted a patent in 1934. In 1968, the first commercial paper industry application with a Defibrator Refining System was installed in Sweden. Further commercialization resulted in many millions of tons of fibreboard and other materials produced in efficient and cost-effective plants worldwide. This revolutionized the pulp and paper industry in the 1970s. Few individuals take a scientific/ engineering concept from the beginning through development
Key new roles for Piero Ceccon at Futura
Piero Ceccon has been appointed as sales chief and vice president of international operations at Italian converting line manufacturer Futura, based at its Lucca headquarters. “Piero’s wealth of experience and proven record for generating excellent results with mayor international tissue players will strengthen Futura’s global sales and Procare activities,” said Futura’s chief executive Fabio Boschi.
“He also brings his considerable
talents to leading the Procare excellence programme for complete customer support in which the company is currently engaged.”
November/December 2014
Futura has completed more than 160 projects worldwide since its inception in 2002, and holds more than 70 patents for its innovations.
Paper Engineers. He was elected Fellow of the Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (IVA) and Fellow of TAPPI. He was also awarded a Doctorate h.c. by the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden. In recognition of his achievements,
to a commercial process used worldwide. Asplund retired in 1979, but continued to be inventive with more than 50 patents.
Among honours he received
are the TAPPI Gold Medal, the University of Wisconsin Distinguished Service Citation, the National Swedish Board for Technical Development prize and the Ekman Gold Medal of the Swedish Association of Pulp and
the Arne Asplund Mechanical Pulping Award is now awarded to encourage the development of new pulping technologies. After living for most of his life in Lidingö, near Stockholm, Asplund died in 1993.
Other 2014 inductees were: Doug Dugal (1937- ) Integrated Paper Services; William Gilbert (1852-1926) Gilbert Paper Company; Marja-Sisko Ilvessalo- Pfäffli (1916-2013) KCL; Martin Keyes (1850-1914) Keyes Fiber; and George Tomlinson (1880- 1958) Howard Smith Paper Company.
New executives for Weyerhaeuser
Weyerhaeuser Company, one of the world’s largest private owners of timberlands and a manufacturer of a range of products from wood to drinks cartons, has appointed senior vice presidents for its two key divisions. The Seattle, Washington-based
company has named Cathy Slater as its Cellulose Fibers head and Adrian Blocker as head of Wood Products, both from the beginning of 2015. Slater, who currently leads the
company’s Engineered Products and Distribution businesses and also has extensive experience in the Cellulose Fibers business, will succeed Shaker Chandrasekaran, who will retire early next year. Blocker will expand his current
leadership of the company’s Lumber business to include OSB, Engineered Lumber Products and Distribution. “Both Cathy and Adrian
have proven their ability to drive operational excellence improvements to get results, and I look forward to the expertise and energy they will bring to their new roles,” said Weyerhaeuser chief executive Doyle Simons. “I want to thank Shaker for the outstanding leadership he has demonstrated throughout his tenure in our Cellulose Fibers business, and we wish him well in his retirement.” Weyerhaeuser had sales in 2013 of US$7.3 billion and 13,000 employees.
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