Southern comfort: the paper recycling industry gathers in Atlanta for the 2005 Paper Recycling Conference & Trade Show

Recycling Today, June, 2005 by Jackie Gubeno

Atlanta may be the home of Coca-Cola, but this June aluminum beverage cans will take a backseat to paper as the dominant secondary commodity as the 2005 Paper Recycling Conference & Trade Show visits the Peach State's capital city.

The Hyatt Regency Atlanta will host the conference, now in its sixth year, June 26-28. The three-day event offers attendees a diverse selection of educational programming on current market issues, an exhibit hall with the latest in paper industry related equipment and services as well as extensive networking opportunities.

HIGHER EDUCATION. The 2004 Paper Recycling Conference, also held in Atlanta, hosted 500 paper industry attendees and 41 equipment exhibitors. Attendance for 2005 is already outpacing last year's rate as of late April, according to the Conference Division of GIE Media Inc., Cleveland.

The 2005 programming covers a variety of timely industry topics in the foreign and domestic markets. On the global end, the Keynote Panel will discuss worldwide fiber flow in a session titled "As the World Turns: Fiber Flow Dynamics" Monday, June 27. Bill Moore, president of Moore & Associates, will moderate the panel of three industry experts: Ming Chung Lui of Nine Dragons, Al Metauro of Metro Waste and Ron Thiry of SCA North America.

The panel will address such topics as the expected recovered demand from Asia throughout the next two years, how different regions or types of businesses will respond to the need for increased recovered paper generation and supply and legislative and regulatory issues that could negatively impact the recycled paper industry. The panelists will also discuss the significant increase in new export oriented companies in the market and their possible impact on the industry and how the paper recycling business can be expected to change in the next five years.

Sessions can give attendees the opportunity to keep up to date on current issues as well as to expand their knowledge in segments of the industry that are unfamiliar to them.

Last year's session on procurement impressed first-time attendee Larry Newell of LDI Fibers, Becker, Minn., so much that it was among the top reasons for him to register again in 2005. "It was a huge learning experience for me," Newell says. "I didn't know that much about the procurement end of our business."

This year, moderator Ed Tucciarone, vice president of Eastern sales for Smurfit-Stone Container Corp. and panelists Andrew Bell of Sonoco, Tom Cihlar of Caraustar Recovered Fiber Group, Marc Forman of Georgia-Pacific/Harmon Associates and Colin Johnson of Abitibi Consolidated will lead the annual session titled "Solving the Procurement Puzzle" on June 28.

The panel of veteran mill buyers will share their insights and offer suggestions on how recyclers can make the process of procuring recovered fiber of different grades and quantities as smooth as possible for everyone involved.

The sessions are also a favorite of Greg Prullage of Graphic Packaging, Kalamazoo, Mich. He says they are particularly beneficial for anyone new to the business or with an interest in the export end of the market. "The export sessions are good for a lot of people, especially in the Midwest where we don't get as much exposure to that."

Other session topics include the impact of the secure document destruction industry on the recovered fiber market, examining Asian markets and quality and contamination issues. A full schedule of educational sessions with times and detailed descriptions is available on the conference's Web site at www.Paper RecyclingConference.com.

SHOWING OFF. More than 45 companies are set to exhibit a variety of equipment and services at the 2005 show, covering more than 4,500 square feet of exhibit space.

A distinctive attribute of the exhibit hall at the Paper Recycling Conference that makes it different from many other expos on the trade show circuit is that the hall closes when the educational programming is in session so attendees don't have to sacrifice time in the hall to attend.

Drawing the line between the exhibit hall and the educational programming makes the Paper Recycling Conference a more fulfilling experience for exhibitors as well, allowing them to take advantage of the sessions that are applicable to their business, says Joe Szany of exhibitor NexGen Baling Systems, a division of Marathon Equipment, Vernon, Ala.

Szany says he typically doesn't attend education sessions at many shows because, as an exhibitor, he usually feels his place is in his company's booth, networking and meeting with potential clients. But the Paper Recycling Conference affords him and his staff an opportunity to spend a little time outside of the exhibit hall without hurting business interests. "There are many things that can influence our business--trends in exports, changes in the way a mill is going to look at a bale," he says. "I've made a special point to attend seminars at the Paper Recycling Conference that I think are valuable."

Closing the exhibit hall during selected times of the day also creates opportunities for exhibitors to do business with clients who might not be as comfortable talking deals in the crowded hall, Szany says.