The recovered fiber industry has been enjoying a strong run as of late. This improvement was not lost on two speakers at the ISRI National Convention in Las Vegas who spoke during the Paper Spotlight session.
Vince Bonfanti, with Harmon Associates, a division of Georgia-Pacific dedicated to the collection, processing and brokering of recovered fiber, noted that the recovery level for paper stock has climbed significantly.
While the domestic paper industry has done a good job in collecting more recovered fiber, more needs to be done, Bonfanti added. One of the key reasons is that China has entered the market in a large way, and is expected to play a continually growing roll in the recovered fiber market in the United States.
One issue is the need to further educate U.S. consumers as to the trade off between higher costs for the raw material and the appearance and quality level of the product, especially in the packaging industry.
This, he noted, is essential when the packaging is often quickly discarded. He noted that consumers will be seeing more shifting of packaging appearances as companies such as G-P delve deeper into the recovered fiber stream.
While discussing the recovery successes for the domestic paper market, he also noted that China will continue to play a growing role in the paper recycling market.
David Lee, vice president, Recycling Division, Ralison International, Inc., a division of Lee & Man, a large, China-based paper and pulp company, focused on the overall China economy. At the same time, Lee touched on Lee & Man’s growing paper business.
In his presentation Lee touched on a number of issues that are propelling the overall Chinese economy, while at the same time throwing caution. The biggest issues included the burgeoning population of the country, the currency valuation in comparison to the U.S. dollar, the banking systems, the overall infrastructure, the number of economic development zones in the country, and the number of foreign investments pouring into the country.
While the country continued to dominate the market for recovered fiber, as well as a host of other commodities, many of the drivers for the stronger buying patterns, also could create difficulties. The energy sector in China is inconsistent. As Lee noted, some manufacturing sites may operate only two days a week due to the inability to obtain a steady supply of power. This, despite the fact that orders for the material may be enough to run much longer.