BIR World Recycling Convention & Exhibition in Miami (1-4 June 2014)

Paper Division, Tuesday 3 June 2014, 15.00: Two guest presentations provide insight into business in Latin America, USA and China

The plenary meeting of the BIR Paper Division under the presidency of Reinhold Schmidt of Recycling Karla Schmidt (Germany) will take place on Tuesday, 3 June 2014 at 15.00 and promises to give a very interesting insight into the global recovered paper markets, with two very interesting guest presentations.

Mr Otavio Pontes is Senior Advisor of the Biomaterials Division of Stora Enso, a global leader in the production of pulp and paper, which employs some 29 000 people worldwide, with sales amounting to  amounted to EUR 10.6 billion (in 2013). Mr Pontes has been working for 10 years for Stora Enso in the Sao Paulo, Brazil office (headquarter of the Biomaterials Division). In Brazil, Stora Enso owns Veracel Celulose through a joint venture with the Brazilian company Fibria. Veracel Celulose produces 1.1 million tonnes of eucalyptus pulp annually. The company has 211 000 hectares of land, of which 90 000 hectares is planted with eucalyptus. In addition, Stora Enso owns Arapoti magazine paper mill jointly with the Chilean company Arauco. In the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Stora Enso owns 43 000 hectares of land, around half of which is planted with eucalyptus. In his presentation, Mr Pontes will focus on “Virgin and Recovered Fibre Competitiveness”.

The second speaker is Mr Chia-Chi George Chen, President and founder of G&T Trading International Corporation, a trading company specializing in recycled goods. Mr Chen has worked in the recovered paper Industry since 1979 and is considered an industry leader with his extensive knowledge on how to promote and handle recycled materials as well as how to grow the recycling industry. He also shares his expertise as a Director of the US-American association ISRI and as President of the New Jersey Paper Recycling Association.  The title of his presentation is “Challenges for USA in meeting the changing fibre demand of China.”

Another highlight of the Paper plenary session will be the award ceremony of the Papyrus Prize, which traditionally honours a deserving individual during the Paper Division meeting at each BIR Spring Convention. This year, the designated recipient of the award is Mr Ranjit Singh Baxi, former President of the BIR Paper Division and current treasurer of the world organisation. Mr Baxi is founder and chairman of J and H Sales (International) Ltd., a company which is one of Europe’s leading fibre recycling exporters, operating across the USA, Europe and the Far East. Mr Baxi  a highly regarded authority on industry matters and an expert on the emerging Far Eastern markets.

Moreover, the Paper Division plenary session features up-to-date reports from the world markets provided by the divisional board members as well as an overview of the activities of the European Recovered Paper Association ERPA by their president Merja Helander of Lassila & Tikanoja.