October 15-17, 2024
Milwaukee, WI
Specialty Papers US is the premier event in North America dedicated to showcasing innovation in the specialty papers industry. This event provides a unique opportunity for experts to come together and drive conversation around market influencers, hear ideas and insights from different parts of the supply chain, and become knowledgeable about innovations and market insights that will improve their business.
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Archroma is a global, diversified provider of specialty chemicals serving the branded and performance textiles, packaging and paper, and coatings, adhesives and sealants markets.
Headquartered in Pratteln, Switzerland, the company operates a highly integrated, customer-focused platform that delivers specialized performance and color solutions in over 100 countries.
Archroma works with 2,800 employees in 31 countries and with 25 production sites.
About BASF’s Dispersions & Resins Division
The Dispersions & Resins division of BASF develops, produces and markets a range of high-quality polymer dispersions, resins, additives and electronic materials worldwide. These raw materials are used in formulations for a number of industries, including coatings, construction, adhesives, printing and packaging, electronics and paper. With its comprehensive product portfolio and its extensive knowledge of the industry, the Dispersions & Resins division offers its customers innovative and sustainable solutions and helps them advance their formulations. For further information about the Dispersions & Resins division, please visit www.dispersions-resins.basf.com.
About BASF
BASF Corporation, headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, is the North American affiliate of BASF SE, Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF has more than 16,700 employees in North America and had sales of $25.9 billion in 2021. For more information about BASF’s North American operations, visit www.basf.com/us.
@BASF_DR_NA
As the largest and fastest-growing manufacturer of specialty papers in North America, Pixelle Specialty Solutions® offers a comprehensive portfolio of products that make life look better every day. From the first cup of to-go coffee in the morning to the bestsellers we read at night, we improve life through innovation, quality and expertise. Our high-performance solutions help customers achieve superior converting results for products that boost brand appeal, improve user experience and support sustainability goals. Let’s work together to make life a little better.
Steve Ottone is the holder of a BS and MS in Wood Science from the Pennsylvania State University. His career started in the paper industry with work for Container Corporation of America, St. Regis Paper, and Champion International. He then moved to the supplier side, working in latex supply to the paper industry for Reichhold, Inc., Dow Reichhold Specialty Latex, and Mallard Creek Polymers. He worked for 7 years with a supplier of ground calcium carbonate into the paper industry. He’s currently a Technical Service Representative with Mallard Creek Polymers, a leading supplier of latex polymers for barrier coatings. His area of emphasis is polymer and rheology modifier solutions to barrier coatings needs.
Gary is a mission-driven professional focused on advancing Sustainability for high-volume consumer goods. Sustainability challenges us to think differently. It challenges us to innovate and build systems solutions. Gary’s 30-years of diverse professional experience with global brands has prepared him well for this mission.
Gary started as a research scientist for Kraft Foods. This cultivated curiosity as a challenger, and analysis skills for building disruptive innovations. This is also when Gary became committed to Sustainability after the launch of his first consumer package into retail.
Gary has served in a multitude of leadership assignments. Each uniquely demonstrating his strength and diversity. Gary’s experience includes Global Manufacturing Engineer in India with the Amway Corporation, Sr. Manager New Product Development with Newell Rubbermaid, Director of Purchasing and Packaging for a global chemical company, and he was the first to build the packaging department for The Home Depot. As an innovator, Gary led development of a disruptive fiber technology for BillerudKorsnäs called Fibreform, a 3D cold formable paper to displace plastics.
Gary served a rotation in public policy, strategy, and government affairs for an Israeli based certified compostable biopolymer company called Tipa.
Gary currently operates as a fractional professional helping a portfolio of clients advance their Sustainability and innovation strategies. Gary is actively accepting new clients.
Scott McNutt has over 40 years of experience in the paper industry, with a focus on process and product knowledge in the disciplines of papermaking, quality, engineering, operations management, Lean/Six Sigma, product development and innovation. He is well-versed in the downstream converting processes and end use requirements for cut sheet, QSR, flexible packaging, and technical specialty grades.
He started his career in specialty paper at Dunn Paper, serving in roles process engineering, quality management, and product dev. He transitioned to Fine Paper with Willamette and was part of the effort to infuse state-of-the-art papermaking technology into the fine paper industry in the US. He then managed the production operations for Wausau Papers, returning to his specialty paper roots. To bring his career full circle, he returned to Dunn Paper in Port Huron to drive operations success and innovation.
He has toured a vast number of pulp and paper mills in the US and abroad, exploring new technology. Scott has been a member of TAPPI since 1985, attending numerous events at the local Chapters as well as annual Conferences. In addition, he has been active in the Smithers Specialty Papers Conferences in Europe and North America. He is currently active in the TAPPI Mentor program and recently joined the Tappi Nanotechnology subcommittee.
His primary focus now with Nextep Partners LLC Consulting is on paper innovations for sustainable packaging applications.
Having grown up in the heart of the Paper Valley (Menasha, WI), paper making is a passion for Michelle. She is 3rd generation in the industry and strives to keep the industry strong by focusing on next generation specialty products and the “what’s next” for the specialty paper industry.
Michelle brings a unique perspective to the advisory board having held commercial roles on both the film and fiber side of packaging and both the specialty and commodity sides of paper. Early in her career she started with Boise Cascade. She has since held roles in sales and marketing with Thilmany (Ahlstrom),Boise Paper, Novolex and now serves as Vice President Engineered Specialties for Pixelle Specialty Solutions overseeing sales, product management and innovation.
Brad Hartong supports Application Development at Primient.
Brad’s career spans 19 years across both the chemical and paper industries. Much of his work has been focused on barrier chemistries development as well as paper coatings.
Brad eared a Paper Science and Engineering, BS degree from Miami University in Ohio as well as completed advanced degrees (Masters and PhD) in the same field from the Institute of Paper Science and Technology.
Dr. Sandeep Kulkarni is the founder and President of KoolEarth Solutions Inc., a technical consulting and business development company focused on helping companies develop and commercialize new sustainable packaging solutions as well as to improve the sustainability footprint of existing packaging and to reduce/eliminate packaging waste. He is also VP, Plastics and Packaging at Ubuntoo (www.ubuntoo.com), a unique environmental solutions platform to address plastic waste, plastic litter, food waste, sustainable fashion and so on.
Sandeep has over 20 years of industry experience working for several large packaging companies, such as International Paper, Neenah Paper and Georgia Pacific. Most recently he worked for PepsiCo, in the area of sustainable beverage packaging. His diverse expertise includes recycling, bioplastics, paper based as well as molded fiber packaging. Sandeep has 7 granted patents as well as several publications in industry journals. He has also served on conference advisory boards and has delivered several invited presentations, at international conferences, on the topics of sustainability and sustainable packaging. Sandeep serves as an Adjunct Professor at The Packaging School (a spinoff from Clemson University) as well as the North Carolina State University. Recently he was elected to serve as member of the Executive Committee of the Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC) for 3 year term (2021-2024)
Dean Benjamin received a B.S. degree in Paper Science and Engineering from the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point and then went on to earn a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Minnesota. While at Minnesota, he studied computational and experimental fluid mechanics of the roll coating process under Professor L.E. Scriven.
Upon graduation, Dean joined Avery Dennison as a Research Engineer at the Avery Research Center in Pasadena, CA where he led projects to develop coating processes for the production of pressure sensitive labels and tapes.
Dean then joined Consolidated Papers, Inc. as a Senior Research Engineer at their R&D facility in Wisconsin Rapids, WI. His research focused on developing new coating and finishing equipment and he eventually became the manager of the Coater Research & Engineering Department. He also worked in the areas of coating color preparation, paper finishing technology, high-speed coaters, fountain applications, corrosion engineering, kraft chemical recovery systems and product development. Dean then became the manager of the Product Development - Publication Papers where he worked on a variety of product developments including high bulk paper, alternative finish paper and high brightness, carbonate based paper coatings, and later was appointed as Director of Research for NewPage.
B.S. Chemical Engineering, University of Delaware, 1987
M.S. Pulp and Paper Science, Institute of Paper Chemistry, 1989
Ph.D. Pulp and Paper Science, Institute of Paper Science and Technology, 1994
Manuel Milliery, CEO and founder of Papkot, a groundbreaking startup revolutionizing the packaging market with sustainable paper coatings. With a decade of experience in UX design and product development, he has collaborated with well-regarded brands such as Nespresso, Airbus, Zalando, Samsung, and Bayer Pharmaceuticals.
In 2019, Milliery left his position as Head of AI Design Officer for a prestigious multinational corporation to tackle a more significant challenge: the pressing issue of plastic packaging.
Through this endeavor, he won the National Geographic Plastic Pollution Challenge in 2020 with a groundbreaking sol-gel coating solution.
This accomplishment inspired the creation of Papkot, a startup dedicated to revolutionizing the packaging market with sustainable paper coatings. Manuel Milliery has steered Papkot to accolades, including recognition as one of the top 100 startups to invest in France or winner of the CITEO Circular Challenge.
Throughout his career, Manuel Milliery has advised numerous companies across Europe, Japan, and the US. Today, he continues to make a significant impact on the world with his commitment to sustainable practices and innovative solutions, such as Papkot, which develops coatings that provide paper with plastic-like properties without altering its end-of-life characteristics.
Daniel has worked within the paper & board industry sector for 25 years and has had positions within Engineering, Sales, and Management. He started his career in Valmet Karlstad in Sweden and joined UMV Coating Systems in 2008. Daniel’s current position is Commercial Director and he is a former CEO and Sales Director of the company.
Daniel has been deeply involved in the strategic decisions to develop technology for better coverage of the fibers and focus on barrier applications which has positioned UMV Coating systems in the center of this field. The work Daniel has made, leading customer projects from idea to implementation on the world market, has given him a profound understanding and knowledge about production units and coating concepts needed to produce optimal barrier products based on surface treatment of paper‐and board.
Jochen Schlegel studied chemical and process (paper) engineering. He has more than 30 years experience in the paper and board industries, amongst other things. He is an independent expert for speciality paper and board grades since 2009.
Bio to come!
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