Biorefinery Offers Industry Leaders Business Model for Major Change

Buffeted by low prices, rising costs, and global competition, it seems the US pulp and paper industry has lost its will to imagine and explore technological and business possibilities. In the pulp and paper industry, a new definition for business appears to be the primary solution for a healthy future. One attractive strategy is forest biorefinery, which provides more payback from the logs that mills already buy, transport and use. Currently, existing pulp mills can be evolved into forest biorefineries where fuels and chemicals are derived from by-products of the logs, which are inefficiently used today. Resistance to embracing the biorefinery model is all but certain, as most people fear new developments. Additionally, new skill sets and additional financing are required for this new approach. The US pulp and paper industry needs to adopt an improved business model, which should include the Vision of market driven innovation, and the Mission of evolving pulp mills into material producing forest biorefineries.