PIMA honors industry leaders.

The Paper Industry Management Association (PIMA) named several award winners at its 85th Annual International Management in New Orleans in June 2004. Among those award winners were James McGinnity, Jack Carter, and Ronnie Cosper.

MCGINNITY NAMED EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR

James McGinnity, president and CEO of Fox River Fiber Co., DePere, Wisconsin, USA, was the winner of PIMA's highest award, Executive of the Year. The award recognizes management excellence and career achievements of outstanding pulp and paper industry executives. McGinnity is a 40-year pulp and paper industry veteran.

SOLUTIONS! How did you get involved in the paper industry?

MCGINNITY: My family owned and operated a weekly newspaper and printing plant in Argyle. Wisconsin. My siblings and I worked in the family business when we were growing up, and I operated the business with my mother following my father's death. This background, plus the opportunity to find employment in the state of Wisconsin following my graduation from The University of Wisconsin with a degree in chemical engineering, were factors in my going to work in the paper industry.

SOLUTIONS! Who had the most impact on you during the formative stages of your career?

MCGINNITY: Many people have had an impact on me during my career, and actually the "formative" stage of my career has never ended. Early in my career I admired superintendents and others that made commitments, accepted accountability for results and laid it all on the line all of the time. They "got it right" when they figured out that life was to be lived according to the following philosophy: "Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out and loudly proclaiming,' Wow, what a ride.'"

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This philosophy expresses an approach to life and work based on uncompromised values and principles. It professes low tolerance for organizational politics and includes seeking out and doing the right things all of the time. Many people I have known have exhibited this philosophy and have positively impacted me during my career. They continue to do so today.

SOLUTIONS! During your tenure with Fox River Fiber, what has been your area of focus for improvement in the organization?

MCGINNITY: Like other organizations I have worked for, Fox River Fiber drives towards the vision of a perfect organization in which all of its members of the organization do all of the right things all of the time because:

* They know what the right things are;

* They have the resources to do the right things, and, perhaps most importantly;

* They want to do the right things, all of the time.

The first element involves education, training, and getting information to the point of decision making so that everyone knows what the right things to do are.

The second element involves making sure everyone has the resources they need to do what they know is right. This means, among other things, that the process equipment is well maintained so it is available essentially all of the time. It also means that the process design can provide products that customers want at a price that provides value to them.

The third element, creating and maintaining an environment in which everyone wants to do the right things all of the time, is perhaps the key to Fox River Fiber's success. Our organization was founded in 1992 with a Total Quality approach and a continuous improvement philosophy. The members of Fox River Fiber have always figured out how to do things better each day. While we are few in number, with 47 associates, the cumulative effect of continuous improvement for 4380 days (through August 31, 2004) has enabled us to become the quality leader in the deinked market pulp industry.

SOLUTIONS! What is an effective strategy for small to mid-sized companies to compete in today's pulp and paper industry?

MCGINNITY: The 4-point strategy which has enabled Fox River Fiber to remain competitive in today's pulp and paper industry is:

Developing a plant organization that consists of self-managed teams that are resourceful toward achieving goals, highly flexible and responsive to the needs of the business.

Creating and maintaining the image of being the top quality and most reliable supplier of deinked market pulp to the paper industry.

Becoming the low cost producer of superior value, 100% post-consumer deinked pulp to the paper industry.

Providing superior value products and services to our customers.

SOLUTIONS! If you could name your career's most significant accomplishment, what would it be and why?

MCGINNITY: Providing the leadership that has enabled Fox River Fiber associates to develop organizational effectiveness to the point that it has become our competitive advantage, while at the same time providing associates with a sense of fulfillment not always found in work environments. Others in the deinked market pulp business have the same equipment available to them and are able to buy the same raw material. Fox River Fiber's success is based on our ability to manage the process better than others. Our goal has been to create and maintain an organization that meets the needs of our customers and other business stakeholders, while at the same time meeting our associates' individual needs. It's fun to come to work everyday just to see the things we accomplished the previous day, and to learn the things we plan to do today and tomorrow to become even better.

SOLUTIONS! What was the most enjoyable time in your career?

MCGINNITY: I have worked for four different organizations during my career in the pulp and paper industry. Some involved greater challenges then others, but one constant has been the people I've had the pleasure of working with. While other organizations I've worked for have had a measure of success in moving towards the vision of a perfect organization, we have been able to move closer to this vision at Fox River Fiber, making now the most enjoyable time in my career.

SOLUTIONS! What are your major interests outside of business?

MCGINNITY: My major interests outside of business involve family. I have 10 siblings, 8 of whom live in Wisconsin and we get together with our families on a regular basis. My wife, Nancy, and I have 6 married children who, with our sons and daughters in-law, have blessed us with 14 (soon to be 15!) grandchildren. We make frequent trips to Chicago, Illinois; Wausau, Wisconsin; Salem, Oregon and Columbia, South Carolina to attend many of the activities in which our grandchildren are involved and to pass on parenting tips to their parents. Life is good!

CARTER NAMED MILL MANAGER OF THE YEAR

Jack Carter, mill manager, SP Newsprint, Dublin, Georgia, received PIMA's 2004 Mill Manager of the Year Award. This annual award recognizes the mill manager who has demonstrated outstanding leadership, management, and organizational skills leading to improved results at their facility.

SOLUTIONS! How did you get started in the paper industry?

CARTER: As I was considering engineering schools in upstate New York, I came across the Syracuse University Pulp and Paper school. The opportunity it presented was too much to pass up--with significant Pulp and Paper Foundation support and ready employment after graduation, I had no trouble deciding to attend. I worked summers for Finch, Pruyn in Glens Falls, New York and for Westvaco in Luke, Maryland. After graduation, I took a job with the Boise Cascade mill in Vancouver, Washington. At that time, it was a small fine paper mill producing lightweight coated and uncoated papers on three small paper machines. I chose this mill because it presented the best opportunity to get into production quickly.

Shortly after starting, I took a real interest in the paper machine area and was asked to be a relief tour foreman. It was an honor to be asked and I dove into it. Many times it was scary because of my lack of experience, but the senior operators saved me time and again. I am forever grateful to them and the many others like them that have always helped me find a way to "get it back on the reel" and improve our operations. From there I progressed to a full time foreman and on to manage machines, departments, and eventually a mill at other locations.

SOLUTIONS! Who had the most impact on you in the beginning of your career?

CARTER: Wayne Christianson, a paper mill superintendent at Boise Cascade, had the courage to give a young kid fresh out of college a chance supervising crews on his paper machines. Wayne, long since retired, will always hold a special place in my mind and heart. Second was Truman Sturdevant, the mill manager at Smurfit Oregon City who convinced me to come work in the newsprint world gave me my first paper machine to manage. Third was my immediate boss at that mill, Mike Siebers, who promoted me to follow him to the Newberg, Oregon mill as the paper mill superintendent.

Mike Siebers and George Lowe, mill manager at Newberg, mentored me in how to optimize a paper machine using both technical and practical papermaking concepts. While at oregon City I met and worked closely with a well-known West Coast newsprint papermaker, Jim Marthaller, and he taught me most everything I know about practical newsprint papermaking. He also taught me how to work at a very high rate with high expectations. Finally, the best papermaker of the South in newsprint, John Daniel, "held my hand" as I came to Dublin and we invented ways to produce newsprint better than anyone in the world dreamed we could with our 1980s vintage machine.

SOLUTIONS! What do you like most about your current situation? What makes it interesting to you?

CARTER: We are a small company and mill focused on being the best in the world at what we do and staying there! Every day with our highly motivated and hard working group at Dublin, we find ways to get better in everything we do. Most of the time it is just plain hard work. Sometimes it is fun. Sometimes it is exciting as we get to try new things that have never been done before.

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SOLUTIONS! You are being honored for your leadership qualities. What is it about the way you manage people and they way you manage your operation that led to this award?

CARTER: I love the papermaking process and the mill environment. The people have always been great in all the mills I have worked in. They will work if you find ways to work with them and help them. Most of the time this is amazingly simple--like providing better lighting, better washup hoses and pressure, better catwalks to work from, better flashlights, better ventilation, etc.

I am passionate about improvement and "winning!" Everyone wants to be a winner and we as managers have to find ways to help them do it. I use the analogy of getting the ball rolling down hill and as it does it will build up momentum as we get more people involved and all "leaning" in the same direction. It is a powerful, moving thing to watch happen. Technology and equipment are the easy things to put in place. Getting the people all working in the same direction is harder but is the most important part of the plan.

COSPER RECEIVES SUPERINTENDENT OF THE YEAR AWARD

Ronnie Cosper, paper mill superintendent, Smurfit-Stone Container Corp., Florence, South Carolina, was presented with the Brookshire Moore Superintendent of the Year Award. The award recognizes a mill superintendent who has shown high personal standards and professional management qualities that contribute to the betterment of those under his or her supervision.

SOLUTIONS! What were you looking for when you entered the paper industry--a job or a career?

COSPER: There were three options for a young person after high school graduation in my area: college, the military, or a job. Since the paper mills pay scale was so much higher than other jobs, it was a no-brainer as to where I wanted to work. Mr. Henry Broadnax was the paper mill superintendent with Riegel Paper in Riegelwood, North Carolina, at the time and I did the yard chores for his wife, Katherine. We became friends and I enjoyed him talking about papermaking and knew that it was profitable because of the toys Mr. Henry had--a nice boat, a lake house, a pick-up truck, and a Cadillac.

After being in the mill a few days I was on the dry end of the machine and there was a break in the coater section; it seemed as if all hell broke loose with people hollering and cussing, climbing up in the coater section, and up on the calendar stacks. It was utter chaos. Mr. Henry came down from the office with blood in his eye, taking control, directing the crew, and getting the sheet on the reel. It was then that I knew exactly what I wanted to do with my life--I wanted Mr. Henrys' job.

SOLUTIONS! Who influenced you the most during the formative years of your career?

COSPER: Mr. Henry Broadnax was definitely a good friend and mentor to me. We stayed in touch after his retirement. Mr. Gus Henry was the assistant superintendent at Riegelwood and had a very positive influence on my career. Mr. Brookshire Moore, Mr. Floyd Duncan, and numerous other papermakers influenced me and I always tried to do my best to not let them down.

The one individual that I admired the most and also loved dearly was Mr. Laurie Driggers. I worked for this man from 1963 until his retirement in 1982. He was the most demanding individual I have ever worked for, but he loved this profession. After retirement, he was employed by a clothing company as a consultant, traveling in the south and southeast. He would call me almost every week and give me advice and new ideas.

After my promotion to paper superintendent, he helped me make the transition. The best advice this man ever gave me was this: although the stock prep area isn't as glamorous as the paper machine, it is more important. If the fiber is properly blended, refined, and prepared, anyone can make paper with it, but if it isn't, nobody can!

SOLUTIONS! What have been the biggest technical and management changes in the paper industry over your career?

COSPER: The paper machine suppliers have played a very large role in the advancement of the industry. The life and performance built into all aspects of paper machine clothing has been a tremendous plus. I am very pleased with the quality improvements that have come about in linerboard over the years. With the introduction of CD as well as MD controls to handle both weight and moisture changes, we have greatly improved compression, bursting strength, smoothness, and printability.

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SOLUTIONS! What has been the biggest single factor in your success?

COSPER: The driving force that has made my career successful was instilled in me as a young boy by my father. He believed there were but a few rules that you had to follow to be a success in life: treat people with respect, be responsible for your actions, obey authority, and always "raise the bar" bit by bit.

I overheard the late Brookshire Moore telling Laurie Driggers years ago that you really didn't have to know that much about papermaking if you surround yourself with good help. When you work for people who understand the process, and when you have the support of front line supervisors and machine crews to carry out a good plan, you can't help but be successful. My hat is off to everyone in our organization for their support.

SOLUTIONS! What was your relationship with Brookshire Moore, for whom your award is named?

COSPER: In 1960, my father left International Paper in Georgetown, South Carolina and accepted employment with Riegel Paper in Riegelwood. At that time, I was a sophomore in high school and I met two of Mr. Moore's sons, Butch and Kenny.

A few months later, Mr. Moore left Riegelwood and I had no news of him for several years. After high school graduation, when I was working with Riegel Paper, I was told of a small liner operation starting up on the Great Pee Dee River near Florence, South Carolina. Mr. Floyd Duncan was going to be the paper mill superintendent and my uncle, Laurie Driggers, was considering accepting a supervisor position. A few weeks passed and I found myself at the Florence plant to be interviewed. As I entered, I met a gentleman and he said in a loud voice, "BOY, WHAT IN THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?" It was Brookshire Moore, the production manager. I explained to him my intentions and he told me to go home, pack my bags, and come back prepared to work.

After start-up, Mr. Moore left to start up a mill in Pine Hill, Alabama, and he took much of his vagabond crew with him. I stayed in Florence, but Mr. Moore and I remained friends. He would come and visit whenever it was convenient. Whenever he came in he took over and gave orders as if he was still in charge, and, in a way, he was. He had given so much of himself to the industry and loved it so that he had the respect of papermakers nationwide.

In his later years, he spoke often of the Lord and his relationship with him, and I hope this was sincere because I'm really looking forward to hearing some more of those old papermaking stories again.

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN

* How Jim McGinnity helps his company work toward "perfection".

* The influences in Jack Carter's career.

* The papermaking legends Ronnie Cosper has worked with and learned from.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

* For more information on the PIMA Awards Program, contact PIMA at [phone] or visit the PIMA web site: www.pimaweb.org.

EDITED BY ALAN ROOKS, EDITORIAL DIRECTOR