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THE MIDWEST BRANCH of the Technical Section, CPPA, got the lead out and went mining for gold last fall for its 50th anniversary celebration. Its efforts unearthed an exceptional group of speakers who addressed the meeting's topic of Competition and Innovation in a Global Marketplace. A gadget competition and poster presentation proved that the sessions' members are not only out there prospecting, but are hauling in the goods.
The speakers each touched on their own areas of expertise, to shed some light on issues that can help the Canadian industry prepare for the future. Dr. James McNutt, Jaakko Poyry Consulting, laid down some hard and fast rules that should keep the industry competitive, while Hassan Loutfi, Paradigm Technologies Inc., promoted research for new technologies, which will provide the means by which the industry can comply with strict quality, environmental and fiscal regulations.
Ajoy Chatterjee, Avenor, was named Midwest Branch chair for the upcoming year. He said that a tremendous effort from several people was needed to make the anniversary celebration a success. "This year we had reps from all of the 13 mills of the Midwest Branch... from Pine Falls to Kapuskasing. Chatterjee highlighted the efforts of Kathy Smith, Confederation College, Lesly Kapush, CPPA, and Gary Person, Air Canada.
Chatterjee is already thinking ahead to the next meeting and thinking about the things that they can do to make it even better. Look for better organization with the meeting hall, more workshop type presentations and more mill issues or mill-oriented presentations.
THINK GLOBALLY
The world does not revolve around pulp and paper but, according to David Hamilton, mayor of Thunder Bay, his city does. In his words of greeting to the delegates and guests, Hamilton told them that their work affects the entire community. "We are pulp and paper, and forestry. That is Thunder Bay; That is northwestern Ontario," he said. "What you decide to do when you leave here affects Thunder Bay and the surrounding communities."
Hamilton said he has found in his travels that buyers in foreign countries don't purchase forestry products from Canada as much as they used to, and said that that was an issue...