Built To Last

Solvay Paperboard is meeting the well-documented challenges within the North American paper and paperboard industry head-on, despite its relative youth compared to other U.S. paperboard producers.

While it has grown into a major player today, Solvay started out with 80 employees and one paper machine designed to produce 275 tons of 100 percent recycled linerboard. The company built its paper mill on a brownfield site that needed to be reclaimed, brought down to bedrock and backfilled.

From this humble beginning, Solvay, without a great deal of flash, began to

The company added a third machine that produces corrugated medium in 2001. That machine, originally slated to produce 475 tons per day, is now producing approximately 700 tons of corrugated medium daily.

Today, Solvay can produce approximately 2,000 tons of recycled linerboard and recycled corrugated medium per day, with a net yield loss of about 10 percent.

To feed its machinery, the company ends up purchasing about 2,200 tons of recovered fiber, primarily old corrugated containers (OCC), daily.

Linda Leone, Solvay procurement manager, says the facility has grown as the box system has expanded. "Literally, step-by-step—when they grow, we grow," she says.

In light of the economics of the domestic paper industry, Solvay’s paper operations are thinly staffed and highly automated. This means, according to Leone, "We expect a lot out of our employees."

The hourly employees run many parts of the business that traditionally would be handled by salaried employees. Training is conducted by employees. Also, Solvay promotes from within using a peer-promotion process where, instead of a manager, employees decide among themselves who will fill a vacancy in the organization.

Along with giving employees the responsibility of training and promoting, Solvay also has established a pay-for-skill system that is job-family based. If an employee learns a second position but does not work that job, he or she would be paid at the second level pay rate for the knowledge he or she has learned. "So this pay-for-skill system awards people for what they know and the flexibility that they offer the company, rather than just the job they perform day to day," Leone says.

"Our management style is one of support, facilitation and obviously a business-management style; but, from an interaction basis, we don’t manage people traditionally here," she adds. "They know what is expected of them, and what is expected of them is to do whatever it takes to manage the business effectively and continue the success it’s had. And, our people have a lot of freedom, a lot of input into how we do things and a lot of job autonomy," Leone says.

Despite this success, Solvay seeks to further reduce the amount of material it landfills. For instance, the company ships its fiber rejects to Syracuse Fiber, where the material is converted into animal bedding, and often burns its plastic rejects in an environmentally friendly manner, allowing Solvay to reclaim the energy in the material.

Leone also says Solvay uses less water in its manufacturing process than most paper companies. She says the 1.4 million gallons of water Solvay uses daily may seem like a lot, but it compares favorably to a former paper mill where Leone worked, which used around 20 million gallons per day.

To accomplish this savings, Solvay has installed a water recycling system. While inevitably water is eventually discharged to the city’s sewage system, the company has taken steps to remove as many of the particulates and starches as possible. Solvay spent a lot of money and time searching for the right technology, eventually adopting a treatment process that is more typical of paper mills in Europe. It is a dual biologic—anaerobic and aerobic—system.

The anaerobic system contains bugs that "eat" stuff without the presence of oxygen, while the aerobic system addresses the particulates with oxygen.

The anaerobic system converts the material into biocast, which is 75 percent methane. The material is shipped to Trigen Syracuse Energy Corp. where it is used to produce energy.

While taking these steps has helped cast a positive light on Solvay, the company remains susceptible to global macro-economic issues, from the overall world economy, to currency fluctuations, to tariffs, to changing legislative and market-oriented drivers.

"U.S. containerboard mills are running at nearly 100 percent capacity. Exporting is the reason for the capacity, as corrugated cut ups are down in the U.S. this year. Inventories of containerboard are at high levels also due to the strong export market and the reduction in production to meet demand," Nolden says.

"Even with these healthy conditions, many U.S. companies continue to rationalize their mills systems and are shutting down high-cost capacity. We expect this trend to continue over the coming years," he adds.

Even with a weak dollar, the Chinese market continues to play a significant role in the struggles of the U.S. paper industry. "We can no longer count on the typical market conditions as they relate to the generational period of the recovered paper cycle," Nolden says. "This despite the fact that only a small amount of containerboard produced in China is shipped back to the United States."

India is also a competitor for recovered fiber. With these burgeoning economies changing the dynamics of the U.S. paper market, domestic paper companies, including Solvay, must take a fresh approach to compete.

To bring in enough supply, Solvay is taking steps that include on-time pick-ups and payments and innovative online software that enables suppliers to track loads into the mill and review weights and quality reports.

In addition to working to strengthen ties with its suppliers, Solvay works with local, regional and state recycling and recovery organizations that promote recycling and development of new markets. For example, the company sponsors and works with the Go Green Initiative in the Syracuse School District, which promotes recycling programs in schools, along with environmental stewardship education.

GOING FORWARD. While Solvay has challenges going forward, the company’s leadership says it believes the model it has built will last.

"We recognized several years ago when we built our first paper machine that low-cost, highly efficient mills were poised to have the sustainability required to thrive in this industry. High-cost, inefficient facilities will continue to struggle, with some closing, as we make our way in this new global market," Nolden adds.

The author is senior and Internet editor of Recycling Today and can be contacted at dsandoval@gie.net.