Better Together: 2026 Student Summit

This episode was recorded on-site at TAPPI's 2026 Student Summit in Birmingham, AL. More than 200 students, plus scores of other attendees, enjoyed panel discussions, a Career Fair, an Engineering Challenge, and so much more. Pulp and paper engineering students came from more than15 leading paper, packaging, engineering, and technical programs to participate in a program focused on "Charting Tomorrow." 

 We asked students to "take the mic" to let listeners know what matters to them. As always, they responded with humor, candor, and their own unique insights. This episode includes student commentary from five TAPPI Student Chapter schools: 

• Georgia Institute of Technology  
• Western Michigan University 
• Auburn University 
• University of Wisconsin Stevens Point 
• North Carolina State University 

Useful links: 

• How to Craft Tissue Paper Truffula Trees 
• Latest edition of Handbook For Pulp and Paper Technologists (The SMOOK Book) 
• TAPPI-sponsored Scholarships for Industry Students
  
  

I'm sure you'll enjoy our student hosts for this energetic episode of Better Together!  Don't forget to share this episode to spread the word about opportunities in pulp and paper—and subscribe to TAPPI's Better Together podcast channel so you won'tmiss future episodes of Better Together: TAPPI's Live Event Podcast and Uptime: A Paper and Packaging Podcast. Thanks for listening! 

Transcript

SPEAKER_09 0:00

Welcome to Better Together, Tappy's live event podcast. Each new episode includes short interviews with the movers, the shakers, and the industry innovators who come to Tappy Conferences to network and knowledge share. I'm Jan Bodilari, editor of Paper 360 magazine, and I'll be your host as we try to capture and share some of the excitement found at in-person events. Hey, thanks for tuning in to this special episode of Better Together, recorded on site at Tappy's 2026 Student Summit. A lot of energy, a lot of learning, and a little bit of chaos goes into every student summit. And this year's event was a rousing success with students, mentors, and sponsors. Although I'm your usual host, for this episode, some of our student summiteers took over the podcast table to share their perspectives on the event, the industry, and more. Your guest hosts for this episode come from Georgia Institute of Technology, Western Michigan University, Auburn University, the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, and North Carolina State University. I'm sure you'll enjoy our student hosts for this energetic episode. Remember, it is so important to share this episode, to spread the word about opportunities in pulp and paper, and to subscribe to Tappy's Better Together podcast channel so you won't miss future episodes of Better Together, Tappy's Live Event Podcast, and Uptime, a paper and packaging podcast. Now let's head over to Birmingham, Alabama, and the 2026 Tappy Student Summit.

SPEAKER_15 1:56

Hey everyone, my name is Lois, and I'm with Vanessa! Yes! And we are from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Okay, so we're gonna start with a little iceberger question. Okay. So the question is coffee, energy, drinks, or sleep. What's fueling your student life right now?

SPEAKER_03 2:17

Uh I have to say I'm not really a coffee person, but I do love some tea. Okay, okay. Yeah, matcha, green tea, very fueling me right now. Very delicious. Yeah. What about you?

SPEAKER_15 2:31

For me, I'm gonna have to say sleep. Oh, okay, healthy. I know, yeah. It's like sometimes it's hard to find time with the studying stuff. Right. You know, sometimes I have to say, maybe the assignment can wait. Let me get some Z's in, and maybe it'll give me some energy to be able to tackle the rest of the day or the school day.

SPEAKER_03 2:50

That's true. Okay, that's my okay. I have a question for you too. Okay. What originally sparked your interest in the paper and packaging industry? And what has surprised you most since getting involved?

SPEAKER_15 3:02

So funny thing is, Vanessa, you actually brought me to this taffy conference today. But I've learned a lot about the process and what it takes to even create like a sheet of paper. Like the fact that I have to go through so many things, so many different machines. I think that's really made me even more interested in actually being a part of what makes stuff that we take for granted today. How about you?

SPEAKER_03 3:27

Absolutely. I think I'm so glad you came. I think the world of paper is so it's like a hidden world, and like a lot of not not a lot of people know about it, but like once you get introduced, there's so much to it. And I had no idea when I first started, but I've just come along and everyone's been so nice. There's so much opportunities that it's like what can you like not enjoy? And I'm so glad I get to like bring in other friends and just show them what else there is to offer. Yeah, I'm glad you're here. Yes, thank you, Tappy. Thank you, Tappy.

SPEAKER_05 4:02

Introduce yourself.

SPEAKER_04 4:04

Okay, I'm Ashley Flambeck. I'm from Western Michigan.

SPEAKER_14 4:08

I'm Emily Secorfis, I'm also from Western Michigan. I'm Shelby Conley, also from Western Michigan. I'm Hannah, really?

SPEAKER_05 4:16

Western Michigan. Okay, if the paper industry had a mascot, what should it be and why? I think it's the Lorax. Lorax, definitely, 100%.

SPEAKER_04 4:26

I think we should all show up as the Lorax next year, like off the bus. To the and if they have the mixer, off the bus to the mixer, all like because we take like 50 suits, 50 Lorax is just 50 people and full orange suits.

SPEAKER_05 4:40

We have to, yeah, and we have to be somewhat professional. So over it we'll wear our clothes.

SPEAKER_04 4:44

Oh my god, make a professional blazer with the full orange suit. That's it. But we have to have like a tree in our hand, like we speak for the trees. A tree in our hand, full orange suits, blazer with the with the eyebrows and the mustache.

SPEAKER_14 4:57

Like we hire somebody from the plastics industry to be the once her and then we have to take them out and change their own.

SPEAKER_05 5:03

Wait, we were talking to someone in packaging today. We can get them. Yeah. We can get them. They were asking that.

SPEAKER_04 5:10

They were kind of after us, though. They're like, isn't it a dying industry? No, like no.

SPEAKER_05 5:16

You're absolutely not. We are thriving. Okay. If sustainability had a theme song, what would it be?

SPEAKER_04 5:23

Oh that's a good one. Let it grow.

SPEAKER_05 5:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 5:28

We're on the Lorex. Let it grow.

SPEAKER_14 5:30

You can't be but you're gonna be able to do that. I think we should have a Lorax watch party at Tappy Student Summit.

SPEAKER_04 5:36

Yes! We watch we watch a good movie. Um we we watch the Lorax movie, but only the parts the Lorax is in. So yeah. Last year we came up with a billion-dollar idea. I'm gonna plug my podcast from last year, Tappy Student Summit 2025. Yeah. Um, go listen. I think it was episode two. Um me, Tabitha, and Kate um came up with a billion-dollar idea that we are still looking for funding for. So please sponsor and you sponsor their billion-dollar idea. What was the idea? Um, toilet paper that was like themed. So like, so like so like you know how they like emboss like toilet paper? No, but like like we do holidays. I like it. And then like we make we can make like it scented different, so like roses for like Valentine's Day, and then we can make it like green for St. Patty's Day and have it like embossed with like petal like four leaf clovers. Yeah, but you can't take this idea because we already claimed it on the podcast last year. You should have patent pet. If you could make anything out of paper, what would you make?

SPEAKER_14 6:40

Um what would make the most money, do you think?

SPEAKER_04 6:44

Well, I like that. Are you going are you going for most money or most useful?

SPEAKER_14 6:48

Like, what are you gonna be using in your everyday life that like if it was made out of paper, it would make everything better?

SPEAKER_05 6:56

I mean, we have so much stuff that's already made out of paper that I'm like, I don't know.

SPEAKER_04 7:00

I don't know. I love paper plates though. Oh, paper plates are so lovely. Better paper straws. Why I became a paper engineer, paper plates? Paper straws, yeah. I think me and Shelby talked about this last year, not on a podcast in Florida and Wendy's because we got paper straws at Wendy's, and I said hot take as being a paper engineer. I hate paper straws because they get that. They dissolved it. Like you cannot, you can't use a paper straw for very long, get like maybe one use out of it, and then it just dissolves in the water and breaks apart. Like one, they just need to be made better. Because obviously it's a it's a good thing to have, yeah, but like make them better, like do something.

SPEAKER_05 7:36

Yeah, my uncle says the same thing though. When he heard I was in paper engineering, he's like, So are you coming up with new ways to make paper straws? And I was like, I don't know.

SPEAKER_04 7:43

That would be the one thing I'd try to do.

SPEAKER_05 7:45

That's if I that's like ever gonna change, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 7:48

Okay, guys. Um, what are we looking forward to most? This is the first day of student summit, we're about halfway through.

SPEAKER_14 7:54

I would say I'm looking forward to the engineering competition. That's always my favorite part of Tappy Student Summit, other than like hanging out.

SPEAKER_04 8:02

I'm looking forward to trivia. Trivia, I win. I don't I will win. I'm not good at I genuinely suck at trivia every year, but I just love doing it. And then like the actual like uh like my teammates are like smart, and I'm just kind of rage baiting them the whole time, thinking that I might know the answer, and I never do it.

SPEAKER_05 8:20

Well, I always go by intuition if it's like they say something and I'm like, yeah, it's that one. Yeah, wait like 75% of the time I'm right. My gut knows.

SPEAKER_04 8:31

This is gonna be me just trying to get what I want out of Tappy Student Summit. Could we please include a question about the great molasses flood of 1919, the forgotten American tragedy? Because I feel like this doesn't get brought up enough, and I really feel like this would be a great trivia question to have. If we had Tappy Student Summit in Boston one year, I'm just saying if we had it in Boston, we could do that trivia question because that's where it happened. Wait, I'm just saying one year Tappy Hawaii. Hear me. Happy Hawaii. Well, you're I think they already decided it for next year, guys. And is it Hawaii?

SPEAKER_14 8:59

Don't you can't spoil it on here. I don't think you're allowed to.

SPEAKER_04 9:02

I'm not spoiling it. I just said I think they've already decided it. It's not Hawaii, and that's our last year.

SPEAKER_16 9:08

Oh my god. Well, I'm gonna be a super senior. It'll be our last year. We're embracing hands at the moment, just so it's gonna be a bit more. And Hannah will tap in.

SPEAKER_05 9:20

Two years Hawaii, I would not be mad. Yeah, I think anyone would be mad at that. What's one myth about the paper industry you wish more people understood? When they say save the trees, totally agree, but like uh that's not us.

SPEAKER_14 9:31

We're not cutting down like we're farming the trees. Like, yeah, that's not the unsustainable part of like the pay. I think that the paper industry has a lot to improve on when it comes to the mills on how much carbon emissions we're releasing. I think that we have a lot of places to grow.

SPEAKER_05 9:47

They're always improving, yeah.

SPEAKER_14 9:49

They're always improving on that. And I think that people think that we're just cutting down trees in like the Amazon when we have farms.

SPEAKER_04 9:57

Yeah, and we're not oh my gosh, it's just oh my gosh. Yeah, I don't think I'm the problem anymore. I'm not the problem.

SPEAKER_14 10:03

I am the problem. But like we're not deforestation, like we're not the problem with deforestation. That's not us.

SPEAKER_05 10:10

Okay, if you weren't studying paper, what would you your backup be?

SPEAKER_04 10:15

My backup. I feel like that's pretty obvious. Baking. Baking? I'd be a blue-collar baker.

SPEAKER_14 10:22

I was gonna go into film.

SPEAKER_04 10:25

Honestly, I'd probably be a cosmetologist. I would be a blue-collar baker. Like this, that could be Shelby's like job after she retires. Yeah, that's right. Like that could be her like second job after she retires, is become dude. I'm gonna be I'm gonna be the best grandma. Like, you know, like oh my god, yeah. You know how like people are like, oh, nothing hits like grandma's food. That's that's gonna, I'm gonna be that person. And I'm gonna like when I when I die, they're gonna be like, and what was her recipe? Because I never write anything down, but I modify recipes and they're just all in my head. You just know what they are. I yeah, that's just totally a grandma thing. Exactly. I'm gonna be like, you just do it to taste, like you got it. That's what my grandma does. She'll be like, Well, I don't have this, but I'll just use this instead. She did that with rice krispies one time, yeah and she used like oatmeal. Don't do it. It was not a good it was not a good substitution. But wait, Hannah, what what would you be if you weren't in paper?

SPEAKER_05 11:18

I don't know, I was trying to think of that. I have no clue.

SPEAKER_04 11:21

Paper's it for you. Yeah, like I'm trying to figure out what kind of vibe Hannah gives that's not like engineer.

SPEAKER_14 11:28

I think you would do good in like real. I was gonna say anything else.

SPEAKER_05 11:34

No, no, no, no. My like side job when I get this job is to like buy houses and renovate them. Like the house I landed, I like that. That would be my thing. The only thing is, I need money for that in the first place, which is why I'm in paper. Yeah, and then my side job is to get that money and then you can do that. And then I can do it. I actually like, yeah, like my little side hobby will be that. It's actually like I forgot about it, but I would. Uh I actually looked into like being a real estate agent. I didn't though. I didn't though obviously I'm here.

SPEAKER_04 12:05

So I feel like this is better though. Like, I I think so too.

SPEAKER_05 12:08

I have a lot of fun with it.

SPEAKER_14 12:10

I'm very passionate about it, which is good.

SPEAKER_05 12:12

Oh my gosh, am I passionate about it? Anyone that walks up to me and it's like, what's paper? They're waiting for like an hour-long conversation of just me talking about it. Oh my goodness.

SPEAKER_14 12:22

The other day I was at a um restaurant and they had napkins like in the bathroom, and I actually grabbed one and put it in my back pocket because I was like, I have to show this to my friends because it was it didn't look like it was pressed like from a nipperl, which was weird. And it was like it had leaves on it, but the leaves were like slightly colored and it was pressed into it. But it was in such a way where I didn't think it came from like a nipper, like a textured nipper, and so I was gonna I was gonna bring it to school and ask for opinions, but I uh forgotten.

SPEAKER_05 12:55

Yeah, I need to ask when you guys get an Amazon box box. Is it just me that looks at where it comes from? Like every single thing. Oh, I look at everyone.

SPEAKER_04 13:03

I've always got it's in like a plastic bag. No, yeah, no, if it's yeah, let's stop doing that Amazon. Yeah, for real. I I always go and look at the Pringles cans. Oh, yeah, to do something makes them.

SPEAKER_05 13:16

Yeah, I always like to see it. Or the Pop Tart boxes. Oh yeah. Yeah, I had a box and I did look at it where it comes from. Any box I look at for some reason.

SPEAKER_04 13:25

I just sometimes I look at a box and I'm just like, wow.

SPEAKER_14 13:28

Sometimes we'll be like walking in a store and I start like naming where each of like the boxes I see are coming from. I'm like, oh, that's from Kiverley Clark, that's from graphic packaging. I'm just supporting myself. Yeah, sometimes I'll print out a receipt and uh my family's like, you don't need that receipt. Like, why are you getting a receipt? I'm like, I'm keeping us in business. I'm getting paper. Yeah, literally. Come on.

SPEAKER_13 13:53

All right, what's our what's up, everybody? Uh my name's Nick Pewitt. I'm from Auburn University, originally from Hoover, Alabama.

SPEAKER_11 14:00

My name's David Covington. I go to Auburn University and I'm from Enterprise, Alabama.

SPEAKER_00 14:05

Um, I'm Drew Deal. I'm a senior at Auburn University studying biosystems engineering. I'm a senior and I'm from Braggs, Alabama.

SPEAKER_13 14:12

Yeah, so we're on here to just kind of talk about some pulp and paper topics. Uh we're gonna start off here with just some general stuff. Uh guys, how do we feel about like coffee, energy drinks, or just sleep in general? Like, do we think we need it? Do we need some fuel source? Talk to me. You need sleep. You gotta sleep.

SPEAKER_11 14:31

I mean, do you though? I mean, I feel like that's pretty arguable. Yeah, you gotta get some sleep, man. I mean, that's fair enough. Energy drinks are good, especially in the summer. It's hot, decent and cold.

SPEAKER_00 14:41

Ooh, white monster.

SPEAKER_11 14:42

Yeah, oh yeah.

SPEAKER_13 14:43

What you know about the 300 milligram rains though? That's that's my go-to. So, I mean, I know my experience with pulp and paper went back a while ago. My cousin is a process engineer for a pulp and paper company, and so that's how I got into it. But, you know, how I mean, how did y'all get into it?

SPEAKER_11 15:00

Um, so I found out about it through a friend who was in the Auburn pulp and paper program. He told me about scholarship, and I was like, you know, that's interesting. I was kind of undecided at that point if I wanted to do chemical or aerospace engineering, but then uh he kind of shed me that and I was like, you know what, I'll I'll see what this is about, and I've loved it ever since, you know, did internships with pulp and paper companies, and it's been great.

SPEAKER_00 15:21

So mine was kind of unintentional. Um I just happened to check my Auburn EDU one day, my email, and it pops up saying, like, hey, you've been awarded this scholarship, accept or deny.

SPEAKER_08 15:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:30

I accepted it, didn't read much into it, didn't think anything about it, and then uh found out it's a whole program. So now I'm getting a specialization in pulp and paper. It's led to an internship, uh, another one upcoming, and then hopefully a full-time job. So Yeah.

SPEAKER_13 15:44

And it really is a you know a very broad industry. I mean, me and David are both chemical engineers, but I mean, Drew, as not a chemical engineer, like how how do you feel about the pulp and paper industry?

SPEAKER_00 15:56

Um I think it's pretty cool because so much water is being used. Um, it's a big environmental process. Um, if it's not managed and taken well care of, uh, you can cause a lot of damage. Um, and I feel like that plays really well into what biosystems engineering is, um, because of how sustainable the uh forestry products are. Um that's our entire major in a nutshell is sustainability and natural resource conservation. So um plays into it pretty well.

SPEAKER_08 16:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_11 16:24

I was gonna ask um what is like one piece of advice you could give to a freshman or sophomore interested in this field?

SPEAKER_13 16:31

Uh for me, just start early. Um you know, the student summit that where we are right now is a great way to meet people, um, talk to industry professionals and just learn about it. Um, you know, being a freshman, you're not gonna know everything, and you know, even me being a senior, I don't know everything. So you're always gonna be learning, so don't don't be afraid just because you don't know everything about it.

SPEAKER_00 16:52

Yeah, definitely piggyback on that. Um networking is probably number one. You can't be shy. Um if you're shy, you're gonna miss out on a lot of opportunities because you're gonna have a lot of uh question marks about hey, I could have talked to this person, that could have led to this. Um you have to put yourself out.

SPEAKER_13 17:08

Yeah, that's a good point. I mean, I I mean I used to be shy, you know. Yeah, I used to, you know, not talk to people, but you just gotta get out of your comfort zone. And now you're talking on podcasts. And now we're talking on the Tappy Podcast. Yeah. All right guys, well that's it for us. Uh we're gonna go talk more about pulled and taper. So thanks, y'all. Thank y'all for listening. Appreciate it. We're here at Tappy Student Summit doing a podcast. Uh, I'm Ben, I'm a fifth-year student for UWSB. Roll dogs. Roll Dogs.

SPEAKER_06 17:36

Roll Dogs. All right, I'm Grayson, uh, again, another fifth-year student at UWSB.

SPEAKER_10 17:41

Uh I'm Jacob. I'm a fourth year student currently, also at Stevens Point for Chemi and Paper Science.

SPEAKER_12 17:48

I'm Max, I'm a third-year student at Stevens Point also.

SPEAKER_13 17:52

Alright, so you know, let's get this introduction going with uh a funny, embarrassing story. I'll keep it relevant to the paper industry for me personally. I did a trial this summer and I had to email the results to all of the salary members, but I went ahead and emailed it to the CEO, um, to the vice president, basically all the higher-ups that are like above every mill person. I was wondering why nobody got my email for like a week and a half, and like my boss is like, yo, when is this report coming out? Like, when am I getting my results for this trial? Yeah. I we we figured out the mystery when we went through my scents, and I'm like, oh shoot. You messed up. Yeah, I emailed the CEO my results.

SPEAKER_10 18:41

You probably didn't even see it, honestly.

SPEAKER_13 18:43

Probably nobody cared, but it was embarrassing for the intern, you know, email. I never thought of that.

SPEAKER_10 18:50

You do have access to email the CEO at internships.

SPEAKER_13 18:53

Yeah, dude, that's that's crazy.

SPEAKER_10 18:55

I didn't think of that.

SPEAKER_06 18:56

He's gonna abuse that power.

SPEAKER_10 18:57

I don't know what I would even send to a to a CEO. What's up? What's up?

SPEAKER_06 19:03

Oh yeah, okay. We want to know what would Jacob send to a CEO.

SPEAKER_10 19:07

I don't know. I feel like it'd be funny to send him like a match for chess. You challenge him to a chess game.

SPEAKER_13 19:12

Yeah, because like imagine if you win, does that mean you get to secure another internship? You know? Oh, you'd have to for a full-time job. Or his job.

SPEAKER_06 19:19

I think you get his job.

SPEAKER_10 19:20

Yeah, you challenge him for his job, and then you're just CEO.

SPEAKER_06 19:23

All right. I can't think of an embarrassing story to be honest. You can have anything, Max?

SPEAKER_10 19:27

I gotta have something.

SPEAKER_06 19:29

I can't think of anything.

SPEAKER_10 19:30

I don't think I have anything mill specific, though.

SPEAKER_06 19:32

Oh, go for it. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, go ahead, go ahead.

SPEAKER_10 19:35

All right, okay.

SPEAKER_06 19:36

I do have a mill specific. Okay, it's kinda yeah, this last summer. This last summer, yeah. So this last summer, I uh I worked in uh Oregon, and there's the Springfield is like the grass capital of the world, so they grow a bunch of grass seed there, and I'm like really allergic to grass seed, and I didn't know that until I got out there. So like my first like month was like a living hell because I just was like so congested. Um and there's a day I like wasn't drinking very much water, and I was out on the floor like getting a tour with like this old guy. And okay, sorry, Brian's like 60, so I'll be nice. But he he was uh I was he's giving me a tour. We're like up by like the the the daft like flotation system, and I'm just like sweating my butt off. And I'm like starting to feel lightheaded, lightheaded, and I like just I'm like, all right Brian, we need to go inside. Um and I got like heat stress heat stress from like water on the mill. Yeah, like kind of embarrassing, but you know I learned my lesson though, it's it's important. You gotta stay safe, stay hydrated, folks. Drink that water, yeah. Anyway, Max.

SPEAKER_12 20:39

Uh this summer I worked in stock prep and we're we didn't have a at which mill? Uh allstrom Nicolet.

SPEAKER_10 20:46

Nicolai.

SPEAKER_12 20:47

And uh we didn't have a wire puller or wire snipper for the an automatic one for the bales that came with wires, so we'd have to manually do it. And I was pulling wires and I backed into this metal pole. I stepped forward, I hear a rip. So I just keep working, and I get the breaker, and then there's just a hole in my butt. Just been walking around stock prep with a hole in my butt.

SPEAKER_06 21:14

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_10 21:16

I I have a funny story. I didn't do it, but some it's it could be embarrassing for the other dude. Um so I was taking consistency samples, just doing a checkover, uh kind of busy work, honestly, for this summer. And uh our stock prep like coordinator, the head of stock prep, whatever you call it, um, I didn't know how to get a sample off of this research line for our pulper. So I asked him, like, how do you how do you do this? And like you you can you know open the shield and see the the like actual flow falling into the pit. And he was like, Oh yeah, I'll show you. So he goes and he grabs like a rake, basically. Like a like a kind of like a garden hoe almost. He hooks this like plastic jug into it. This was a cycle now. This plastic jug, like it into it, like the handle, the prongs into the handle. And he like basically climbs over the ledge of the pulper, sticks his arm in. I'm not gonna say which mill this is. I don't want this dude to get fired. Um, he sticks his arm like in the pulper, like by the blow to like get it. And I like I'm looking at him through this like like window, and I see him reach in. I'm like, oh my god, this is not gonna help. And he he turns around with the biggest grid in his face with like nothing in his hands. And I'm like, oh my god, bro. He just dropped all of it straight into the pit. So not really my my embarrassing story, but an embarrassing story. Oh my god.

SPEAKER_06 22:37

So I think we just told like safety incidents. I think we just shared safety incidents pretty much.

SPEAKER_10 22:43

Pretty much. Those are embarrassing. Those can be embarrassing. Oh, oh, another one. I was at my my co-op. This is kind of embarrassing. This is a safety story. I dropped a manhole cover on my shin. I don't know.

SPEAKER_06 22:56

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_10 22:57

Because uh it was for some, I don't know, it was some scale pit for the the pulp pulp mill. And uh I took it off and I was I was monitoring for CO2, and then I dropped it on my shin. So that was fun.

SPEAKER_13 23:11

If the paper industry had a mascot, what should it be and why?

SPEAKER_06 23:16

Hmm. I mean, a tree? I'm fine if I'm gonna be honest.

SPEAKER_10 23:21

That's kind of boring, though.

SPEAKER_06 23:22

No, but like, what if it's a tree that like really wants to be turned into paper and no one will turn him into paper?

SPEAKER_13 23:27

You guys know the Shrek movie where the trees come to life and they're kind of like chasing and Lord of the Rings. Oh, yeah, that's another one. Let's just have an ent.

SPEAKER_10 23:37

The ent. It's like a it's like an ent who wants to be paper.

SPEAKER_06 23:41

Yeah, he's like, please, please turn me into paper. And no one's everyone's like kind of dark. Ah bro, you got a lot of oak vessels. No, he's an oak tree and no one wants to turn them into paper, you know? Oh, because yeah, it's like your vessels are so short, bro. It's like we don't want you. No, they have big vessels. No, they but they're wide. They're not they're not uh I thought they're like the stout. At least they're bad for printer paper. Yeah, I don't know. I couldn't.

SPEAKER_10 24:04

I don't know.

SPEAKER_06 24:04

Do you use them in making in cardboard? I don't know.

SPEAKER_10 24:07

Um I thought you just avoided oak.

SPEAKER_06 24:10

You guys use anything for cardboard, don't you?

SPEAKER_10 24:12

Yeah. Yeah, I guess. Well, you use garbage for cardboards with package.

SPEAKER_06 24:15

Yeah, garbage. Yeah. That's all the icebreakers. I guess there's some rapid fire like style. I don't know.

SPEAKER_10 24:20

Is there packaging or printing? Is there a time limit for this? What's our let's do packaging or printing?

SPEAKER_06 24:24

We have no time limit.

SPEAKER_10 24:26

Okay. Packaging or printing.

SPEAKER_06 24:28

I like that question.

SPEAKER_10 24:29

Well, have you have you worked both? I've worked in both. You've worked both.

SPEAKER_06 24:33

We can throw a tissue in there too.

SPEAKER_10 24:34

What kind of packaging are we talking? Because does IP do boxes?

SPEAKER_06 24:37

Whatever you want. Yeah, they do boxes.

SPEAKER_10 24:39

They do boxes? Okay.

SPEAKER_06 24:41

They do boxes.

SPEAKER_10 24:42

Okay. I still say printing. Packaging or printing. I choose printing. Really?

unknown 24:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_10 24:47

Cougar Cougar gotcha, huh?

SPEAKER_06 24:48

Yeah, yeah, it got me.

SPEAKER_10 24:50

Which which grade was it? Cougar or links? What gotcha?

SPEAKER_06 24:52

Ah man, I don't know. I like links a little bit more, I think. Sorry, we're talking about Domtar paper.

SPEAKER_10 24:58

Yeah, the Rothschild mill Domtar. I don't know if we can talk about it. We've had mill tours and they've just told us before, though.

SPEAKER_06 25:04

Yeah, I mean, people know it grades different places.

SPEAKER_10 25:07

It doesn't matter how we're not saying specifically how to make it.

SPEAKER_06 25:10

No, no, no. So I couldn't tell you that. I don't know. I actually couldn't tell you that. I don't know. Printing because it's like uh I just like how much quality like detail goes into it. Like it's really cool how specific everything is, and there's so much like quality testing compared to like a like a you could add special you could add specialty on here too. Specialty would be cool too. I'd be cool to think about it. I think I'd like specialty just as much as printing.

SPEAKER_10 25:35

Specialty. But I also I also like like the print, like uh I think I'd have to go with packaging because I kind of like the the raw raw numbers aspect. Okay, you don't like making a lot just going for quantity, like yeah, you have specs for quality, but it's given your given your raw material, it's pretty small.

SPEAKER_06 25:54

Yeah. We got anything on this side of the table?

SPEAKER_10 25:59

Go for it.

SPEAKER_06 25:59

Printing or packaging, printing or packaging or specialty.

SPEAKER_13 26:05

I gotta be specialty just because that's all I've worked.

SPEAKER_10 26:09

You've worked. No, you haven't worked printing.

SPEAKER_13 26:12

No, just specialty. Yeah.

SPEAKER_10 26:14

Well, I mean, you could say tissue too. Like you've worked on a tissue machine.

SPEAKER_13 26:17

Tissue, but I mean it was still a specialty mill.

SPEAKER_10 26:21

Yeah. Oh yeah, yeah. Okay.

SPEAKER_13 26:23

I think my favorite thing was it was a Nakusa. I wasn't even on the paper side, but they make something called bacon board. And it's where the bacon will sit on. I think it was the coolest thing I've seen people like the butcher paper almost, but on on bacon packaging. And another specialty thing that's pretty cool is uh dental bibs where they crib the paper. Or I used the wrong terminology there.

SPEAKER_10 26:44

Embossed? Is it embossing or is it? It's not embossed, it's disaster. Crimping?

SPEAKER_13 26:49

Grimping, yeah.

SPEAKER_10 26:50

Crimping?

SPEAKER_13 26:51

Something along that where they put this plastic liner in the paper. I should know this. I worked there, I worked there for a summer, but and you're going back. Yeah. I'll I'll learn it then. Max.

SPEAKER_10 27:03

Max? Well, I guess we're updating the question. Packaging, printing, specialty, or tissue. We're broadening it.

unknown 27:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_12 27:09

Well, I haven't worked specialty or tissue or printing. I call have to go specialty.

SPEAKER_10 27:15

Specialty?

SPEAKER_13 27:15

Oh yeah, team specialty.

SPEAKER_12 27:17

It's really funny when there's a color defect and they have to scrap the whole 80,000-pound order. That's really funny. That's really funny.

SPEAKER_06 27:25

Yeah. It's real funny until you work there full time.

SPEAKER_12 27:27

Yeah, well, that wasn't a me problem, so that's why it was really cool. Okay.

SPEAKER_10 27:30

You also get overtime, so it's double up. Double up. Alright, I got a question, man. This is somewhat broad, but um what's the coolest lab meal tour or hands-on project you've done so far? Feel like hands-on project. Uh my favorite. We can do lab or mill tour. Let's do the coolest lab or mill tour.

SPEAKER_13 27:51

My favorites when Dr. Gong dragged us to ND Paper. I was pretty funny. Dragged. I'm sorry, not dragged, uh. It was a class trip. Invited us to ND Paper. Yeah. And we learned a lot, and they taught us a lot. And uh they informed us a lot about the smoke book. It was what book? The smoke book. Uh it's uh the smoke book. It's the handbook guide for the paper pulp technologists. It's uh it was a textbook of ours, freshman year. Yeah, you know, they knew a lot about that book. They didn't teach us about the mail, they taught us about the book. It was pretty cool.

SPEAKER_10 28:25

That's true. That was a good tour, though. I feel like because they had uh an entire coding system that they bypassed, right?

SPEAKER_13 28:30

It was the first time I had coders.

SPEAKER_10 28:32

Oh or was it a super calendar? It was a super calendar that they bypassed it. They bypassed a whole so it was kind of a skeleton super calendar, big ass, big hit in the floor, all there that they kind of just bypassed and went straight to their winders.

SPEAKER_13 28:44

It was the first time I saw somebody on a bike just zooming down the mill.

SPEAKER_10 28:48

Oh, yeah, they hit tricycles in the mill.

SPEAKER_13 28:50

Yeah, it it inspired me to do a safety minute on bike safety.

SPEAKER_10 28:54

Yep. Yeah.

SPEAKER_13 28:55

Can you repeat the question again?

SPEAKER_10 28:56

Uh, what's the coolest lab mill tour or mill tour? We're gonna take off hands on project. Yeah, that even seems like I feel like coolest lab is not gonna compare to a mill tour. Oh, mill tour is a little bit.

SPEAKER_06 29:05

This one's really good. It's not a mill though. It's uh oh, is it the felt? It's the felts. Oh, that was in Appleton. Um, and it's just like these crazy big looms that make felts, and you get to see all of like the actual fibers like before they're made into a big woven felt. Oh, that's super cool. And like the old style ones have operators for them, and like they're basically checking and making sure there's no issues or defects in the in the loom, like when it's making the felt. Uh, and then they have these new, these new style looms that are just like automated, but they still have to be like loaded. The schools have to be loaded uh by hand. And they said it takes like seven days to just like set up the loom. Like those, it it's insane. Yeah, I mean it then runs, I think, for like you know, quite a few days in a row, right? But it takes them a bunch of time to even get it like you know set up to run because it's just so tedious. You have so many different threads. Um, and then you once you get an actual felt, right? They they take it to uh they take it to like a uh what do you call it? Like a different like needling section, and they run it and they they take fluff and and it shoves it into the felt. So you're needling the felt and adding volume to it. So that's how you get that water removal, right? And my favorite part on the tour is when we were walking through that area, they had like a resurf line of the fluff because it, you know, not all of it goes in the sheet. And it just looks like Willy Wonka in the chocolate factory, bro, because you just had like these clouds of like cotton candy like flying through like the sky in like nets, you know, coming back to the like the start of the stock prep area. Yeah, so it's just cool. I don't it's just like the most interesting looking facility, you know, that I've seen that just wasn't a paper mill. I don't know. I liked it. It is interesting, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 30:50

Hi, my name is Maya. I go to North Carolina State University and I'm here with my friend. Hi, I'm Emily. I'm also at North Carolina State University. And we're here at the 2026 Tappy Student Summit. So, Emily, what excites you most about the future of sustainability materials and fiber-based products?

SPEAKER_16 31:07

One thing that actually got me into paper science was in 2020 with the whole Save the Turtles movement. Um, I actually really hated when we started using paper straws, especially in South Carolina. Um, I would go for softball tournaments and see, like I couldn't get a plastic straw, but I've wanted to look towards making a biodegradable straw and biodegradable packaging that doesn't like disintegrate anytime you put it in water. Um, what about you?

SPEAKER_02 31:30

Um something that excites me about the industry is um working with specifically like makeup products. I want to work in that industry. I think there is a lot of growth happening in the industry, and um we can go really far, and everybody uses makeup, and it's becoming a really big thing and a part of our um generations now, and I think it's really important that we keep that sustainability and we keep growing, and from there we can keep growing and sustainability and everything.

SPEAKER_16 31:59

So if you thought that if the paper industry had to have a mascot, what do you think it should be?

SPEAKER_02 32:05

I think it could be a like tree frog, okay, like, but like a poisonous dart. Oh yeah, because like they're bright blue or like they're bright colors, and the paper industry is like it's secretly like you don't know that we're here, but we do make a big impact, and it's like poisonous because if we didn't have it, we wouldn't be able to function like on a daily basis, like it's in our technology, it's in our food, it's in our clothes, and we use it every day, even for like hygiene. So, yeah, if we didn't have it, I think we would go crazy. What about you?

SPEAKER_16 32:36

Um, I think it would be specifically the Mr. Pencil from the Mr. Pencil games on the leaf pads. I something about it, it really just makes me like with because uh with communications, I think pencils really, you know, the written word is so important, and I think that really speaks to how well we as people get to communicate.

SPEAKER_02 32:55

Yeah. Um, well, I have so much fun with you in favorite science, and I can't wait to grow more. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you.

SPEAKER_09 33:05

I'd like to thank all of our guests for stopping by the podcast table to share their perspectives with me and with you. I hope you enjoyed this episode and learned something new about our industry and the people who make it work. Please subscribe to the podcast channel so you won't miss a thing. I'm Jan Bodilari, reminding you that we really are better together.

SPEAKER_01 33:32

Hi, I'm Lawton Roberts, president and CEO of Tappy, the pulp, paper, packaging, tissue, and converting industry's trusted resource for the publications, training standards, and networking that are so vital to our industry's growth. Tappy conferences are an excellent way to build both your knowledge and those lifelong relationships that are so critical to your career. When you come to our live events, please stop me and introduce yourself. I would love to hear your story. In the meantime, check out Tappy.org for more. Thank you for listening.