7/09/2010 |
(en una verdadera perspectiva global)
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Earlier newsletters have highlighted the central role that the paper industry plays in the chain of industry that stretches from the forest to consumer. Although the paper industry in Wisconsin directly employs 40,000 or so people in pulp and paper mills, the number of jobs dependent on the paper industry is much larger. This newsletter will look at that part of the chain that deals with the paper after it comes off the paper machine.
The converting industry encompasses a broad range of activities. Technically, any operation performed on a roll of paper after it leaves the paper machine could be called converting. This includes rewinding and slitting. Although most large paper mills do slitting and rewinding on their products before they leave the mill, in many instances there needs to be additional converting of the paper before it goes to a final end user. This has given rise to a group of companies that further process the paper or board before it goes to a printer or packaging manufacturer.
These converting companies take the large rolls of paper or board and prepare them for use. For some converting companies this means simply rewinding and slitting the rolls to smaller sizes that then are shipped to printers or other converters. For other companies it may involve converting the paper or board to a final product. This could include coating of the paper with silicone and subsequent conversion to labels; it could entail formation of laminated products, or it might involve taking large tissue rolls and converting them into bath tissue or folded facial tissue.
Because there are so many possible end products resulting from converting of paper there is a great deal of specialization within the converting industry. Typically there are particular processes specific to particular products. Specialized equipment typifies converting operations. Since the processes and equipment tend to be different than equipment found in a pulp or paper mill, the workforce tends to be somewhat specialized as well.
A web site dealing with Wisconsin converting companies is: http://www.wisconsinconvertingindustry.com/ This website lists sixty-four companies in Wisconsin that have converting operations or supply machinery and equipment to the converting industry in Wisconsin. In addition to the companies listed on this website, there are a large number of printing operations in Wisconsin. It is quite natural that these companies are in Wisconsin as this puts them close to the source of their raw materials. Wisconsin is one of the largest producers of packaging, converted nonwovens as well as printed materials.
One thing most operations have in common is the handling of roll goods. In converting large rolls to final products there may be some intermediate steps to reduce the size of the rolls. An article in the November 2006 issue of Pulp & Paper magazine (pages 28-33) describes a new piece of equipment for trimming rolls to a desired width. Rather than putting the roll through a slitter/rewinding operation, the roll is trimmed with a large circular blade. There are a number of advantages to cutting rolls in this fashion. Since there is no unwinding/rewinding, the tension in the roll is the same as off the original producer’s rewinder. The article indicates that a fifty inch diameter roll can be trimmed in three minutes and because the cutter is part of an integrated system that loads the roll onto the cutting deck and then kicks out the trimmed rolls, the operation can be run with one operator. The positioning of the cut on the roll is handled by a computer and it is claimed that the cut accuracy is 60/1,000 of an inch. The speed, accuracy and automation of the system have improved the productivity of Northeast Paper Services of Scarborough, Maine. The supplier of the converting equipment is Mapleroc Industries. Additional information about the RollShark Converting Center is available at: http://www.mapleroc.com/
There is an effort to bring some organization to the group of companies in Wisconsin that engage in converting roll products. Recently, eight Wisconsin companies started meeting to provide a forum for industry news and foster growth in the industry. This group of companies sponsored a meeting at St. Norbert College in October and provided an open invitation to other converting companies and interested parties. Over 70 people showed up for the meeting.
In addition to sharing news and events of interest to converters, future meetings of this group will offer great networking opportunities. The next meeting of the group is scheduled for January 17, 2007 and will be at the Bordini Center of Fox Valley Technical College in Appleton. To learn more about this group of companies and their interest in strengthening the industry visit: http://www.convertinginfluence.com/
Visit the Paper Industry Resource Center web site at: www.uwgb.edu/pirc/
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