Consumables
Innovation a Key Theme at the 28th Annual RISI North American Forest Products Conference
Monday 04. November 2013 - Industry executives from across North America gathered in San Diego October 7-9 at the 28th Annual RISI Latin American Pulp and Paper Outlook Conference to network, learn about key industry trends and hear valuable forecasting information from RISI economists.
Conference attendees included executives from pulp and paper companies and the wood and timber industry, forest owners and timber investment management organizations (TIMOs), financial and market analysts, procurement managers, business intelligence managers, investment consultants, suppliers and logistics managers.
“Speakers at this year’s conference explored the concept of ‘innovation’ as they delved into new and ongoing industry issues, including the long-term survival of print on paper, new technologies, M&A, and emerging opportunities in the North American forest products industry,” said Greg Rudder, conference chair and editor of PPI Pulp & Paper Week.
At the conference, Jim Hannan, CEO of Georgia-Pacific, was named North American CEO of the Year. Hannan also participated in a CEO panel discussion moderated by Rudder along with five top CEOs from companies with combined annual revenues of approximately $45 billion. Participants included:
Gary McGann, CEO, Smurfit Kappa Group
Jim Hannan, CEO, Georgia-Pacific
Dave Paterson, CEO, Verso
Duncan K. Davies, President & CEO, International Forest Products Limited (Interfor)
Don Kayne, President and CEO, Canfor
In addition, RISI economists delivered forecasts and market outlooks for key parts of the supply chain. RISI presenters included:
Rod Young, Chief Economic Advisor, Fiber
Bob Flynn, Director, International Timber
Ken Waghorne, Vice President, Packaging
Seth Walker, Associate Economist, Bioenergy
David Fortin, Senior Economist, Wood Products
Bob Berg, Principal Economist, Lumber
Esko Uutela, Principal, Tissue
Derek Mahlburg, Economist, North American Graphic Paper
Hannah Zhao, Senior Economist, Recovered Paper
William Studstill, Director, Cost Benchmarking (Graphic Papers)
David Katsnelson, Director, Macroeconomics