1981 Volume 2

The relationship between ‘handle’ and the bending properties of paper and paper-board is investigated statistically. The handle of Paperboard was recognised to be explained by bending stiffness. In contrast,  the handle of paper is complicated by bending stiffness alone. The highest correlation coefficient is obtained for paper by applying the formula Sm²/d where Sm is the maximum bending moment at the curvature of 2.5cm⁻¹ and d is the thickness of the paper.

A simple method of observing the liveliness of paper is also proposed.

Thank you very much for inviting UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Organisation) to attend this conference and for giving our organisation a platform to discuss with you how the pulp and paper research situation in the developing countries might be improved with your help. UNIDO, a member organisation of the United Nations Organisations, is 14 years old and started operations in Vienna on 1 January, 1967. Its mandate, according to the United Nations General Assembly resolution 2152 (XXXI) of 17 November 1,966, is to promote and accelerate the industrialisation of the developing countries.

The image quality, paper handling and archival specifications of non-impact printing technologies such as ink jet, electrophotography, thermography, etc. impose special requirements on the substrate. For economic and practical reasons, paper will continue to be the substrate predominantly used. This situation presents new opportunities for the paper industry at a time when traditional markets, such as newsprint, are being eroded by the proliferation of electronically-accessed data bases.

As a contribution to the discussion of the research and development process in publicly funded institutes working in the pulp and paper field, the effort in the CSIRO division of Chemical Technology, Melbourne, is described under the following headings: function: the Division as part of CSIRO: staff: research programmes: research administration: funding: career structure and remuneration: interaction with industry and other outside bodies: and achievements. Brief reference is made to pulp and paper laboratories in neighbouring countries, which are usually part of a Forest Research Institute.

In connection with the theme of this Symposium, it appears that the relationship between fundamental research and papermaking can be traced through the Proceedings of previous Symposia, as shown for example by the impacts of the hydrogen, bonding theory on paper strength, the theory of electrokinetic interactions on paper formation, the theory of glass transitions on high yield pulping, the understanding of fibre morphology on resource extension and the theory of hydrodynamics on wet end improvements.

Most EEC countries have institutes concerned with research and development for the pulp and paper industry. These institutes are either independent establishments, such as PIRA in Great Britain or the Centre Technique in France, or they are part of larger institutions, such as the paper department of TNO in Holland or the Institute of Paper Technology of the Technical University of Darmstadt in the Federal Republic of Germany.

Budgets and personnel and hence the capacity of the research institutes vary considerably, characterised by a total staff of 12 persons minimum to 185 persons maximum. Accordingly, the budget varies between US$ 0.8 – 7 M per institute. The funding of the EEC research institutes is done in various ways, either by the government, or mixed, in the form of government and industrial contributions.

A few years ago the EEC commission in Brussels initiated a new funding incentive for certain projects.

Since the various research institutes already existed before the EEC was founded, it is not surprising that research strategies continue to have a strong national bias. The multi national character of research is still under-developed. The reason for this is, among other things, that the paper industries in some EEC countries regard international research with a certain suspicion. In addition, active communication and cooperation in research and development are impeded by the fact that much energy must be expended for raising funds . This is bound to lead to pronounced formalisation and to tactical biases in those bodies which are concerned with research and its contents.

Fundamental research is a long term activity and the results will generally not have an influence on industrial development for a long time. It is however essential for the progress of the industry, but cannot be justly evaluated by any short-term economic formula.

Fundamental research in the Swedish pulp and paper industry is today mainly carried out at the Swedish Forest Products Research Laboratory (STFI). STFI is a collective research institute and is financed jointly by the pulp and paper industry, through the Pulp and Paper Association and by the state, through the National Swedish Board for Technical Development (STU). The budget for STFI amounts to 60m SKr of which approximately 70% is financed by the basic agreement between the state and the industry, whereby the state carries a share of 42% and the industry 58%. The remaining 30% of the budget is financed by different funds and from contract research.

The pulp and paper industry together with the state also supports research at a number of other institutes, such as the Swedish Water and Air Pollution Research Institute (IVL), the Institute for Surface Chemistry, the Swedish Packaging Research Institute, and the Graphic Arts Research Laboratory (GFL). The necessary coordination of the different activities is in the hands of a research committee organised by the Pulp and Paper Association which has to formulate the R & D policy of the industry and to propose to the board of the Association how the available funds should be distributed among the different institutions and research projects. The industry is represented on the board of STFI, in the advisory research council of the Institute, and in a number of special committees for different research areas.

For over a hundred years, the Japanese pulp and paper industry, which dates back to 1873, has had to struggle with three major problems.

For the first 40 years, it had to compete with traditional hand-sheet making. The introduction of mass-production technology from abroad allowed the machine-made paper industry to surpass hand-sheet production.

The particular role played by a contract research laboratory such as Battelle will be examined. This role is affected by the different approaches which a contract research laboratory has necessarily to adopt. Specific single-company sponsored research, as opposed to government or multi-company programmes, is seldom fundamental. However, the advantages of using a nonspecialised laboratory to address specialised problems are several, and examples will be given of the results which can be obtained in this context.

Technical Research as a formalised departmental activity at Beloit was begun in approximately 1957, with instructions from Mr. Lloyd Hornbostel, Vice-President of Engineering, to set up a Research Department.

It is wrong to consider that there is anything unique in the conducting of research (and development) in the paper industry. The only difference between this and other industries, is the management attitude which has resulted in the situation described by Ron Allan in his paper (1).

Research demands a combination of the correct organisation, able people, and insight. Insight is a rare characteristic: it is the one that distinguishes “great captains” from mediocre generals.

In managing research for productive ends the rules are the same as for any other management task, but the boundary conditions are different.