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Better Together: Live from 2023 CorrExpo - Episode 2

• Jan Bottiglieri • Episode 24

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Welcome back for the second of two episodes of Better Together recorded at CorrExpo 2023 in Cleveland, OH, August 29 and 30th. More than 1,200 people attended the event, which featured an active exhibit floor, memorable networking events, and an expert-led technical program. Whether you were lucky enough to be there or not, these mini-interviews capture some of the engagement and excitement on site.

In this episode, we'll be speaking with:

·      Matt Condon, business development manager, digital printing, Domino 

Host Jan Bottiglieri asks Matt about new developments in digital printing.

·      Christine Little, director of sales/Corrugated Machinery Division,                Mitsubishi Heavy Industries

Learn about one of the biggest causes of plant downtime—and what can be done. 

·      Joe Slattery, Midwest regional sales manager, Fosber America, Inc.

Joe and Jan talk about exciting developments in corrugated technology.

·      Ron Gracy, territory manager, Walla Walla Environmental 

Ron wraps things up discussing how wastewater treatment can save your plant money.

Click to read more about CorrExpo 2023, and view slideshows of the Awards Ceremony and the networking event at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

SAVE THE DATE for SuperCorrExpo, September 8-12, 2024 in Orlando, FL. This HUGE, only-once-every-four-years event is not to be missed!

SPEAKER_05

Welcome to Better Together, the Paper 360 podcast. Corrugated is one of the most dynamic sectors in our industry, and today's guests will help you see why. We recorded these mini interviews on site at Core Expo 2023 in Cleveland, Ohio, August 29th and 30th. The event was a huge success with more than 1,200 people in attendance, an active exhibit floor, memorable networking events, and an expert-led technical program. In this episode, I'm pleased to welcome Matt Condon from Domino North America, who shares some new innovation in digital printing, Christine Little, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, on addressing one of the biggest causes of downtime, Fosbor America's Joe Slattery, with some exciting developments from this machinery leader, and Ron Gracie from Walla Walla Environmental on saving money with wastewater treatment. There was so much going on at Core Expo this year. I hope these interviews can capture a fraction of the excitement and engagement I felt in Cleveland. Let's get started. And now I'm with Matt Condon. He's Business Development Manager of Digital Printing for Domino. Matt, thank you so much for being on Better Together.

SPEAKER_03

Thanks, Jen. Thanks for the invitation. Appreciate it.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, I'm glad you're here. So you have a booth down on the floor here at Core Expo. Tell us how that's been going for you and what you've brought to the show.

SPEAKER_03

Okay. Well, yeah, we're at Booth 100 uh here at Core Expo. Uh what we're showing is the Domino XX30i uh digital corrugated press. And uh that we've had it probably out, I don't know, maybe maybe two years now. Um we started in the middle of COVID, so that was interesting too.

SPEAKER_05

That was a challenge, I'm sure.

SPEAKER_03

Just a little bit. But uh yeah, we're here we're here showing it to um you know the folks here at Core Expo. We've uh you know, I was at the other Core Expo in Denver in 2016, so I'm a bit familiar with it. But this is our first one for Tappy. So it's been a good event. Uh, we've gotten a lot of good people coming to the booth. Uh so I think we're leaving with a lot of good, a lot of good leads and you know, a lot more people knowing about who Domino is.

SPEAKER_05

That's terrific. That is why these events exist is just to bring people together, bring vendors closer to the mill guys, and and have everybody learn a little more and meet more contacts in the industry.

SPEAKER_03

Absolutely, absolutely. So it's been it's it's been good. Uh yesterday was nice and busy for us, so the day went pretty quickly. Uh today's been pretty good as well. So um, you know, we've been excited to be here. So the the floor event's been nice, uh, you know, all the reception and the uh other networking events were actually very nice too. Yeah, the uh Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was a really good event yesterday.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, that was a people had a great time. Um I I really enjoy the vibe in the corrugated industry, how so many people seem to know each other and it's a really friendly industry, I think.

SPEAKER_03

It is. What I find what I find very interesting is these these events, uh a lot of peer sharing going on. So I think it's you know, you know, for us being a bit newer to the industry because we're digital, I think the peer sharing helps because you know you know, we're vendors, so you know, people expect us to say that's the best thing in the world, but it's when people talk to people and really understand what other people are doing, that's where it really helps.

SPEAKER_05

And I hear you on that. And I've used this phrase on the the podcast before talking with folks, and that is a rising tide lifts all boats. If we can help each other know more and do more, it's good for everybody.

SPEAKER_03

Absolutely, absolutely, completely agree.

SPEAKER_05

So digital printing has changed so much and come along so quickly in the last few years. What are some really uh some of the new capabilities with digital that you're really most excited about at Domino?

SPEAKER_03

I think it has to do with just the flexibility you have with digital, and I think the way digital needs to be thought of as it's just another tool and another asset to be used in business. I think sometimes digital is thought of as, you know, it's gonna it's gonna take over what we do traditionally today. And it's just it's just not the case. It's it's the right tool for the right job. What's the right job is really those, you know, it's it's those smaller runs or those uh some of the more unique things that people have to do that, you know, traditionally may take may be a little bit harder, a little bit harder to do. So, you know, such as I if I have to do small runs of 500 or 5,000, uh, you know, changeover on traditional machines sometimes take longer than doing the run itself. But on digital, it makes that easy, so I don't have that changeover time. So basically what I can do is now get more done because I don't have I don't have that changeover work to deal with. And basically at the end of the day, it provides more value to the end user and their customer.

SPEAKER_05

Sure. So it's really more like using the right tool for the job.

SPEAKER_03

Yes, yeah.

SPEAKER_05

All right, I like that.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, because I mean people you think it's like oh it's gonna take over the world. No, it's just a tool. And it is a tool for the job.

SPEAKER_05

So I like that. I like that. So at Domino, what are some of your strengths you think? What sort of sets you apart as a as a company?

SPEAKER_03

As a company, well, we're a 45-year-old company, so not a lot of people know who Domino is. Uh we're we're based, our group is based out of Cambridge, UK. We got 25 subsidiaries, with the US being the largest subsidiary. Um, so our heritage always has been, always has been Inkjet. Um, we in 2016 were purchased by Brother Corporation on Nagoya, Japan. Oh. So they're our big brother.

SPEAKER_06

Literally. Literally and figuratively.

SPEAKER_03

And they've they've given us a lot more capabilities. So basically, I'm gonna say our bench is a lot deeper in RD, and there's a lot more technology we can use off the shelf from Brother. So I mean that that's exciting. So, you know, and when people get into digital technologies, you know, one of the things I do say is, you know, choose a company that you'll know will be behind you for the long haul. And I believe we're really well positioned for that. And I think, you know, the other aspect in regard to our machine, uh, what I find unique about our machine, I think it's important, it's it's compact relative to uh, you know, some of the other uh some of the other machines in the in the industry. We're about you know 40 feet long just on the printer itself. And if you add uh you know some of the other ancillaries, such as stacker and stuff, we'll probably be about 70, but it's pretty short.

SPEAKER_06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

Uh the other thing, it's an aqueous-based ink. So uh, you know, for near food type of applications, it's better it's better fit. Um and you know, basically in in certain markets, people don't people are worried about UV ink, so the aqueous ink is a nice uh you know is a nice alternative to that. Uh we also we also partnered with uh another company here you may know of, Sun Automation Group.

SPEAKER_05

Oh yeah, for sure. I talked to someone from Sun earlier in the podcast, earlier in the event for the podcast.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, and we and we work with them. We got the, you know, we have the Sun lead edge feeder on our machine. So we work with Sun uh with that. So the I mean, you know, so those parts are you know well known. And you know, Domino always is the type of company where we know injet well. Let's partner with people that know what they're doing and are already established, and Sun's one of those partners for us. So it uh that that's really nice.

SPEAKER_05

Well, when it comes to printing, something I think is fascinating is all the new capabilities incorrugated, but you're not only working with your customer, they're in turn working with their customer. So there's this kind of long chain of communication that needs to happen.

SPEAKER_03

I almost kind of look at it as the value chain because you know they with the new capabilities you can do with digital, now they can provide different things for their customers. You know, one of one of the other things I find interesting about digital is you know, there's been a lot of talk about, you know, it's been hard to find labor and labor shortages.

SPEAKER_05

You know, every time. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

And with it, now you can do now I can do something very simple on digital, or I can do something very high graphic and complex digital. Now the now why why does that fall into this labor thing is that I can use the same staff for something simple and something complex. So I don't need those specialists that you would, especially if you get into the high graphic arena, you know, if you got those um multicolor flexo presses, it it takes a specialist to really know how to run those well.

SPEAKER_06

Sure.

SPEAKER_03

With digital, I don't I'm not I'm not needing those specialists or need to find those specialists because I'm using I'm using the same crew. And the digital gives me the capability of simple or complex with with that same team.

SPEAKER_05

So how can Domino work with a customer? I I imagine it's a challenge sometimes if your customer is bringing in new equipment and their folks have never seen it before. I mean, what can Domino do to help out there?

SPEAKER_03

Oh, basically what we do is we gotta there's there's a team of people. So I mean it's as much about uh the machine as how you how you can feed the machine or you know, how do you get a digital file from the customer all the way through? And we help we help customers with that because that part is as important as the machine, because if you can't feed the machine, obviously it's doing nothing. But especially with uh with uh with a lot of converters, they don't have um those people right now. So it's it's it's getting those people, training those people in order in order to do that. So bringing that graphics element in, especially somebody brand new, needs needs a lot of help. And we and the hand holding is really important really important to make that progress.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, you gotta give them the confidence to be able to do it.

SPEAKER_03

Oh, absolutely, absolutely. I mean, we take a look at it's not you know, for us, it's not selling machine and dropping it off and saying thank you very much. Buy to figure. Hope you enjoy. But it it's it has to do more of like, you know, their win is our win.

SPEAKER_06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

And you know, we're gonna be here for the long haul, and that's important. So it's not about just now, it's a year from now, it's two years from now. So, you know, we want to make sure uh the customer we're working with has, you know, long-term success because their long-term success really is our long-term success.

SPEAKER_05

That's true. Let's talk about that. Let me ask you what's a really one of your favorite customer wins that you've come across.

SPEAKER_03

I think it would be when the customer can find out they can do something new and they, you know, they win. You know, just like it it's almost kind of like you've like lack of a better description, they stumbled onto something and didn't realize that they could do that. And then when the light bulb goes off of one, one, I can do that, two, it brings so much higher value to our organization and the end customer. And then when the end customer gets excited about it, it's just like, all right, you're in.

SPEAKER_05

And it's a ripple effect.

SPEAKER_03

Exactly. And it's uh what's really nice to hear, it's not you know, our customer, but hear the end user kind of going, well, digital changed the way we do business because we can do things differently than we've done before. So it's kind of the awakening of the end customer kind of going, now I can take a look at my markets completely different.

SPEAKER_05

I mean, that is really Core Gated has grown so much in the last decade, right? But I think for future growth, that's really gonna be key is these new markets where you get new capabilities, new printing uh capabilities for for brand presentation, it's gonna open up new markets.

SPEAKER_03

Right. It's just just think about like, you know, before digital, you know, the there's there's quantity issues, meaning that I always had to get a minimum quantity. Therefore, that end user had there or that end company had to think about what they would do. With digital, now they can because quantities aren't an issue because I can do very short, very long. Now I can so now I can now go specific to language, specific regional functionality, you know, stuff like that. Now I now I can I can I can market in French and market in English, and I can have just enough boxes to do both. You know, I can market in Florida, I can market in Maine and have two completely different messages if I needed to. And digital makes that accessible to the end, you know, to the end company or the end user or the brand, I should say.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah. Well, again, that sounds like something that maybe a lot of your customers might not be thinking of.

SPEAKER_03

Correct. Yeah, it's it uh well getting into corrugated, the one thing I never appreciated was the word volume and what that meant. And so, you know, when a lot of people think in such high volumes, I think when you start taking a look at what you can do in a in a smaller volume, people are just like, I'm not sure what you're talking about. Or how can you do that? Because of just it's it's been the same way for so long. You know, that's the you gotta it's it's a re-education. And I think that's the other thing I like about um being in this market. It's not it's not about okay, we we're we're here to sell equipment, uh obviously. But the thing we find important is the educational aspect of it, you know, because you just can't just sell somebody somebody good luck again, like I said before. But it's really about the education, it's about the you know, about what's different, what you can do different. So it's not about what you know the uh converter can do, but it's what the converter can do with their customer, you know. So if you think farther along down the line, that's where that's where it gets really interesting because everybody has to understand it, otherwise it just won't happen. So I love it.

SPEAKER_05

Well, my listeners cannot see this, but the smile on Matt's face when he was describing that ripple effect of of better capability is really gratifying to see. Matt, clearly you like what you're doing, you like the industry, and you're you're happy with what your customer could for what your company can do for customers.

SPEAKER_03

Correct, I agree.

SPEAKER_05

All right, let me ask you one thing. Uh this is my last question that I've had for every interviewer. What is one thing you really wish your customers knew? Once if you could tell them only one thing, what would you want them to know right now?

SPEAKER_03

Having the true understanding of what what the value is when going to digital. And what I mean is it's not about the digital technology and wow, that does a lot of cool stuff. It's about the business of using digital and how that can transform your business when uh you see the value and you can get the return on it. It's under it's it's the awakening of the business of digital, I should say.

SPEAKER_05

I love that. That's a great note to end on. Thank you, Matt, for being on Better Together. I really enjoyed talking with you. Thank you, Jan.

SPEAKER_03

Appreciate it. It was fun.

SPEAKER_05

Now on Better Together, I'm going to welcome Christine Little. She's director of sales in the Corrugated Machinery Division for Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America. Christine, thank you for being on the podcast today.

SPEAKER_04

Thanks, Jan. Excited to be here.

SPEAKER_05

Oh, I'm so glad to hear that. So we have a really busy exhibit floor, a lot of new tech down there. Um, and I understand that Mitsubishi has something that you're showing at the show that you're pretty excited about. Can you tell me about it?

SPEAKER_04

We are. Uh this year uh we talked a little bit uh last year about the pre-feeder, and this year we are having further discussions, showcasing, have uh a little bit more information. And the first one is going to be installed in North America hopefully by before the end of this year.

SPEAKER_05

Oh, congratulations. I'm glad to hear that. Thank you. So folks can stop by the Mitsubishi booth and learn more about the pre-feeder. Um, one thing that I had learned in reading up uh my extensive journalistic research I do for every single podcast so speaking of research, um so Mitsubishi had done some research into what causes downtime for corrugated plants. Can you tell me a little about that?

SPEAKER_04

So we researched what is the key factor that is preventing everyone from running at top speed 100 percent of the time. And what we're finding is that the ancillary equipment uh does have a huge uh contribution to productivity being a little bit lower.

SPEAKER_05

Right. So it's the ancillary equipment. And um did I read that correctly? 50 percent of downtime, you think, is due to problems with the ancillary equipment? Correct.

SPEAKER_04

Um and that's something that has been researched worldwide. It's nothing that is specific to North America or Europe, it it is worldwide.

SPEAKER_05

Wow. Okay, so what's Mitsubishi's answer to that?

SPEAKER_04

So we researched uh a prefeeder uh at a actually it was at a European customer's request to create a prefeeder, not only um to help them out with that downtime, but one that is catered to the evol. Uh so we developed the prefeeder, uh, have been testing it. We have about 20 or so in the European market and recently decided to bring it to North America. Um right now it's capable of being on the Evol 100 or Evol 84, but also any uh uh equipment that's a top printer.

SPEAKER_05

So evol is Mitsubishi's kind of full line. Um and tell me a little about the Evol line.

SPEAKER_04

So the Evol is a flexifolder gluer. Um we've had it in the United States States, I'm sorry, uh since about 2007, six. Um and obviously everyone has heard about the evol before. Um you know, uh capable up to four colors. We have three different sizes, it has the dual slaughter, um, you know, just the things that um everybody has come to know the name Evolve.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah. And a lot of different options for different customers to suit their own needs. Correct.

SPEAKER_04

Correct. Everybody's a little bit different.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah. Well, that's kind of what makes the corrugated industry interesting, at least for us. I don't know if that's interesting or challenging for suppliers.

SPEAKER_04

Aaron Powell I would say it's more challenging today. Yeah, really. Um, we all went through COVID, and now we are being asked a little bit more from the service aspect than we ever have been. You know, what we can do to help the plants. You and I talked last year, it was about labor, and now it's about improving productivity, uh, not necessarily going faster, just setting up faster or you know, running more efficiently.

SPEAKER_05

Sure. Do you think some of that is catch up due to the supply chain kind of delays that we had during COVID? And we're still kind of playing catch-up. Maybe there were um plants that weren't having suppliers come in for um maintenance or consulting as much during the pandemic?

SPEAKER_04

Aaron Powell I think so. I I think everybody, as you just said, every customer is different. Everyone has uh a little bit more expectation. You know, whether it's somebody wants more maintenance training, more uh operational training, um, or everybody is looking at I wanna I just had a customer today, hey, I want you guys, you know, to come in and do operational training for my third shift. Wow. Right. So everybody's looking what we're trying to cater to what everybody needs right now from us. Right. Okay. And be inflexible.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, absolutely. Is the pre-feeder that you're showing here at the show, is that only for use with the evol line?

SPEAKER_04

At this time, that's all it's been used for, but it is compatible with any top printing um piece of equipment that someone may need, obviously falling within the constraints, the min max that we have.

unknown

Okay.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah. Well, I'd love to hear more. You say you've already got this um, the new prefeeder in use with a bunch of European clients. Correct. Um, which is great because the North American corrugated industry, hey, I love you guys, but you can be a little skittish about trying something that hasn't been already proven. Correct.

SPEAKER_04

So, um We already did that. We've already done that for several years and and tried it in the European market. I mean, let's be honest, the North American market is different. Yeah. We run faster, longer, more shifts, more days per week. Yeah. Um, and proving it in both, you know, Japan and in Europe, making sure everything is working, and then moving it over here, it just makes sense. Right. It makes a lot of sense.

SPEAKER_05

What are you able to tell your North American customers about what you've already learned from customers using the new equipment?

SPEAKER_04

I personally saw it run. Okay. This past January in February, um, I was in Europe and I actually saw the prefeeder run. Runs very well. Is it pretty? It well, of course it's pretty. Um it it does what it needs to do. It's a very simple, basic design. Yeah. You know, not a lot of fancy bells and whistles. It just does what it's supposed to do and keep up with the evolve or any high-speed equipment.

SPEAKER_05

That's nice. That's good. What are some of your favorite customer sort of results or things you've heard, or maybe anything you didn't expect a customer to tell you about using either the evolve or the new prefeater or both?

SPEAKER_04

I had a customer this morning that actually quote unquote said that um in his eyes the M H I Evol is the gold standard.

SPEAKER_05

Wow. Wow. Well, usually you didn't say it. You're just usually I encourage my guests not to be overly promotional, but you didn't say that. They did. That must have felt really good.

SPEAKER_04

Um, and you know, everybody has things that they could improve on. Things that uh to make you better, always stepping it up. And just because you hear that, it's very good, but you can't ever you have to be relentless. You have to keep trying to be better. And our customers over the last couple of years have made us better. Challenged us.

SPEAKER_05

Great to hear.

SPEAKER_04

Um, you know, wanted the flexibility to cater to what they need. Everybody needs something different. And I think that we have really listened to that. We have a long way to go, and there's a lot we need to do, but it's it's I mean, just to hear that this morning, it's a good feeling.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, I'll bet. It's a good feeling. I'll bet. So um what I'm I'm really glad to hear that our supplier base, um, because I know this goes just beyond Mitsubishi, is really reactive to these demands from the industry and constantly trying to improve for their customers. Um But what are some of the barriers that you've heard from customers that keep them from improving the way they want to?

SPEAKER_04

Like, wow, that's a great question.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, what stands in their way?

SPEAKER_04

Um I think the the we constantly are talking about labor. Uh today I heard there's a new Gen Z, there's somebody, there's there's a new group that's after it with a new name. I just think that we have to, the industry as a whole, manufacturing, corrugated, whatever you want to focus on, we have been a little stagnant. I think that we need to change the technology to the type of labor pool that we're going to get. Not just look five years, ten years, you know, we have to look a little bit further. Um I know the a lot of plants are concerned about what the plant is going to look like you know in the next few years. Um I think that everyone is looking for vendors that are going to grow with them in a partnership and help them out.

SPEAKER_05

Absolutely. I love that idea of growing with the customers because I think the corrugated industry is going to continue growing.

SPEAKER_04

Oh, absolutely.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, there's gonna change. Yeah, but there's so much coming down the pike that people are excited about right now. It's not just a box. Yeah, it's not just a box. Well, before I let you go, um, there's one question I've been sort of asking all my interviews, and that is what's one thing that you wish your customers knew? Either about Mitsubishi, about the industry, or about working with suppliers that you really wish your customers knew. Here's your chance.

SPEAKER_04

Oh my gosh, that's really hard. Um, what do I wish my customers knew? That we appreciate them more than they absolutely realize. Oh wow, that is a great message. Very much appreciate the orders, the feedback, everything that they have done. That's that's why we're here and why um we we keep trying to be better.

SPEAKER_05

I love it. Christine, that's a great note to end on. And thank you so much for your time today on um Better Together. It's been really nice talking to you. Same here, thank you. And now on Better Together, I'm really happy to welcome Joe Slattery. He's Midwest Regional Sales Manager with Fosbur. Thanks for being on the show, Joe. I really appreciate you being here.

SPEAKER_01

Thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, absolutely. Fosbur is gonna be a familiar name to anyone in the corrugated industry, I think, and anyone in Tappy. Um, and uh hoping we can start by telling us a little about Fosber's Tappy involvement.

SPEAKER_01

Okay, yeah, Fosber is uh is very involved in Tappy. We always uh are a strong supporter in sponsoring uh the golf outing. If you were if you were at the golf outing, every every golf cart had a Fosber sticker on it. Um and we we sponsor other events here as well.

SPEAKER_05

That's great. And what do you what do you think the advantage to Fosbor is of that? Because I can tell you the advantage to Tappy is great.

SPEAKER_01

Uh you know, I don't know, but I I think it we have to support the uh Tappy, the the the whole event. It's uh it's a great networking event. Maybe it's a way you could say we give back to the industry.

SPEAKER_05

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01

It's done for us.

SPEAKER_05

Absolutely. Um I've had I've heard some good things on the floor about the event just in terms of customer engagement. Has that been the experience so far around your booth?

SPEAKER_01

It's been excellent for us. We've we've talked to many independents along with uh many of the in-between uh corporations and then also the big the big corporations as well.

SPEAKER_05

Oh, that runs the whole gamut.

SPEAKER_01

Yes.

SPEAKER_05

So that's terrific. So tell me a little about what Fosbor does.

SPEAKER_01

Fosbor makes full corrugators. We started uh 40 years ago, 35 years ago, making dry ends, and now we make the full corrugator. We've sold uh so installed 28 corrugators in the last three years.

SPEAKER_05

Oh, just in the last three years?

SPEAKER_01

Yes, and we have an eight corrugator backlog.

SPEAKER_05

Wow. So you'd say business is picking up a little, huh?

SPEAKER_01

Business is very good for us, very strong.

SPEAKER_05

That's terrific. Do you pre do you foresee more growth in Corrugated as as an industry?

SPEAKER_01

I I hope so. I I I that's hard to predict, but there's there's more than just growth to the industry. There's a lot of cycling of machinery too. There's a lot of old machinery there, and a lot of the people that could take care of that old machinery have now retired.

SPEAKER_05

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01

So that keeps us so at that point the company has to put in new machinery.

SPEAKER_05

So you've been in the industry long enough, I think, to be able to give our listeners a sense. What are some of the biggest uh uh changes you've seen in, say, the machinery of twenty years ago versus the machinery you'd be able to supply a customer with today? What are some of the biggest gains or improvements?

SPEAKER_01

I think the overall diagnostics uh that we have now, the being able to see videos of how to maintain our machines. Oh and and again, just mainly the how how much easier it is to diagnose diagnose them the machines, what's wrong with it.

SPEAKER_05

Okay, so that's something that you help a customer with, a plant yeah?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, we have 24 hour service uh that that helps our plants. I mean, that's that's really our our forte in the industry. We're we're we're very good that once the machine's installed, we're very good at taking care of the customer.

SPEAKER_05

That's terrific. Now you don't have to mention any names specifically, but can you think of any recent experiences that you've had where you really kind of surprised a customer with what you've been able to diagnose?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I won't name any names, but there happened to be a customer here that uh had some trouble this week. Uh the heat wave came across the Midwest and some electronics uh gave away. And while we were out enjoying the golf, taffy golf, the customer's corrugator was not running. And uh by the end of the day, by the time we were at the taffy reception, the corrugator was running.

SPEAKER_05

Oh wow, that's terrific. Now that's that's very service-oriented.

SPEAKER_01

Yes.

SPEAKER_05

What's your favorite thing that you can do for a customer, the moment that really makes it worthwhile for you?

SPEAKER_01

Well, being I used to be on service, on the service end, so being able to fix some problem that's been uh causing the customer, whether it be downtime or just uh struggling with it, to now being able to uh help them with the ROI of their new machinery. And make it you know, make them understand make create value in in what they're purchasing.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, because for sure, a machine like you just described that wasn't running at all is not creating value.

SPEAKER_01

No. No, it's not.

SPEAKER_05

Nobody wants that.

SPEAKER_01

No.

SPEAKER_05

Can you tell us a little about um what are some common pain points you hear from your customers?

SPEAKER_01

Boy, I think right now finding uh qualified personnel is is uh is the buzzword for uh buzz phrase, I should say, for for everybody here.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, how have you seen customers handle that?

SPEAKER_01

Um, you know, there was a a session on that here, which we were involved in, and uh there's uh a whole array of what people are doing, uh whether it be a lot of training, a lot of making sure people feel good, understand the end.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

The end goal with the company versus just saying, you know, fix this widget and move on. It's more sure. It seems a lot of the younger generation wants purpose versus just a paycheck.

SPEAKER_05

Oh wow, a hundred percent. Were you in the keynote this morning that Mark Shulman gave?

SPEAKER_01

A good part of it. Yeah, yeah. I got caught up and I couldn't get the whole speech.

SPEAKER_05

But he brought up that same idea that it's not just the what you do, but it's the how you do it and the why you do it. That yeah, that really resonated for me.

SPEAKER_01

He was I I enjoyed uh what part of uh his speech I saw I really enjoyed.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, he was great. I I got to talk to him for the podcast too. Ah um so let me ask you this. Now, this is something I've kind of been asking all of my interviews um at this show Can you tell us one thing you really wish your customers knew? If you could tell the customer one thing that you really wanted them to know that would help them, what would you tell them? Besides watch out for a heat wave.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05

Or let me maybe I'll phrase it this way What one thing could your customers do that would make it easier for you to help them?

SPEAKER_01

Well, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say something that I'll pull something more from my service days that uh many times we try to make things more difficult than they are. Um since rock and roll is a theme here, uh kiss me, Stanford, keep it simple. And I think a lot of times people forget the basic fundamentals and and try to get too involved in solving a problem instead of taking care of the basics.

SPEAKER_06

Right.

SPEAKER_01

You'll hear that if you watch a football interview, you may hear five different coaches say that on the same day.

unknown

Right.

SPEAKER_01

Why their team didn't win is because they didn't take care of the fundamentals.

SPEAKER_05

Right, because they didn't catch enough, throw enough, kick enough.

SPEAKER_01

Try to be too to make it too complicated.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, to get the head up in the clouds too much instead of the you know on the ground where the machine is.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05

All right. I like that. Kiss, rock and roll, keep it simple. Someone.

SPEAKER_01

I stopped before saying the last S.

SPEAKER_05

I think that's only politically correct. I think that's right. Joe, thanks so much for being on Better Together. I really enjoyed speaking with you.

SPEAKER_01

You're very welcome. My pleasure.

SPEAKER_05

And now on Better Together, I'm gonna welcome Ron Gracie. He's territory manager for Walla Walla Environmental. I've been hearing a lot about this company. We're really glad you're here at Core Expo. So thanks for being on Better Together.

SPEAKER_00

Thank you. Thank you for having me.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, absolutely. How's the show been going for you guys so far?

SPEAKER_00

The show has been great. Uh we've had a great time here this week, and uh we've really enjoyed uh everything that Tappy has put together uh as well as the connections that we've been able to make uh in the industry.

SPEAKER_05

Oh, that's perfect. That's exactly what we want to hear, and that's why we do it. Um and I saw you this morning um in the keynote uh presentation from drummer Mark Shulman. How did you like that?

SPEAKER_00

Uh it was fantastic. I uh enjoyed watching his uh his speech and watching him play the drums and really have a wild time in there.

SPEAKER_05

It was pretty cool. I really liked it. Um so you're with Walla Walla Environmental. I know you guys do wastewater treatment. Um and I think maybe incorrugated, that's an area that not all plants really like to think about it because it's not really how you make money. It's more of a spending money, right?

SPEAKER_00

It is. It's uh it typically gets put over into a corner of the facility and it gets forgotten about, and before you know it, you're spending way more money on it than you would ever want to spend on it. But uh the reality is is you want to be able to uh uh reduce your spending in waste and waste treatment and uh you know be able to save that money so you can put it back into your maintenance budget and and other areas of the facility.

SPEAKER_05

Oh, that's a great point. You know, if you save that money, you can put it somewhere where you'd rather spend it.

SPEAKER_00

Right.

SPEAKER_05

So what kind of um results have you been able to show for your customers?

SPEAKER_00

Um so we've kind of covered a couple different fields there. Um a large one is saving the money, obviously. Um we we've saved upwards of $400,000 for some of our customers.

SPEAKER_05

Oh, in in a single plant or in a single in a single plant.

SPEAKER_00

We I've saved up to $400,000 and up. I mean, it w when some of these facilities are having to haul water off every week because they can't treat their water and the water has to go somewhere.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah. Absolutely. And can't just can't just go home with the employees in their canteens, right? Trevor Burrus, Jr.

SPEAKER_00

Exactly, right. I don't think I'd want to take that home with me. Um but it must be really complicated as far as the chemistry of it and you know, is that you know, where what is the what is the starting steps of this process and how do I and you know send that off to my employees and stuff like that is a lot of the questions that a lot of these plants have. Um but I mean just reaching out to us and I mean there's there's not a waste treatment wastewater that we can't treat.

SPEAKER_05

Oh wow, okay. So that's a pretty bold statement.

SPEAKER_00

Aaron Powell It is a pretty bold statement. But we've uh we've been able to make it work for every plant that we've worked with. So Okay.

SPEAKER_05

Well, that's a really good question. If you have a new customer and they they say we here's our current system, we'd like to save money. As the supplier of this chemistry, where do you start?

SPEAKER_00

Aaron Powell So I mean we start with our water. Uh typically what we do is we like to go in and we like to figure out what's going on, what issues they're having. Are they are they having mechanical issues, are they having chemical issues, and then we take samples of their water, we can we take it back with us to our lab and we work with it, and then we provide uh quotes of as far as like, hey, you know, working with your water, this is how much you could be looking to spend, and this is how much each chemical is gonna cost, and then I can write up, you know, this is what it's gonna look like per week, per month, per year, and then they can take it back amongst their own people, be like, oh hey, this sounds great, looks like we're gonna save some money. And then from then we come in and we provide a product trial where we treat we treat the wastewater for them. We come into the facility, we provide all the chemistry, and we we work with them and um, you know, show them what we do. Because, you know, for us, you know, actions speak louder than words.

SPEAKER_05

So you don't just go in and change everything and say, well, this is it now. You do a trial, and can you sort of adjust things after the trial depending on their needs?

SPEAKER_00

We can.

SPEAKER_05

Good. Good. I imagine those needs might be different depending on so many factors in the industry, such as where the plant is located, what the source water is.

SPEAKER_00

It does. Um there there's so many app where the water's coming from, they're they're raw water that's coming in the facility. Um a lot of times you can find calcium issues and all kinds of stuff in some towns. Um also the the different ink manufacturers, you know, not all ink is is made the same.

SPEAKER_05

Sure, that might would make a big difference.

SPEAKER_00

It would. And uh it it really and then also it's it's sometimes the employees. Uh what are they dumping down the drains and you know, a lot of these facilities and stuff, it's like you know, when you flush something down the toilet at home, you don't really think about where it goes.

SPEAKER_05

No. Well, that's on purpose. I do not think about it.

SPEAKER_00

But uh there there's always gonna be someone that has to deal with that. And yeah.

SPEAKER_05

And that's you. That's me. So, okay, you don't have to name any names, but can you think of an issue that a customer had that really like floored you where you said, Oh, we've gotta step in.

SPEAKER_00

I've had a customer that uh they had a uh employee that had worked there for a long time, and the employee had run their wastewater system, and suddenly he retired and they were left with nobody.

SPEAKER_05

Oh wow.

SPEAKER_00

And so we were able to go in and work with the facility and get them back to where they were running so they weren't having to haul their their wastewater off because I mean those costs can be enormous.

SPEAKER_05

Oh wow, you know that's something I hadn't really thought about. But that that brain drain is a real issue throughout the corrugated industry, the the pulping industry, the paper industry. Um, what do you do when that one knowledge holder leaves the p the plant or the mill?

SPEAKER_00

It is, and especially with I mean, you look post-COVID years, look at the turnover in this in our industry. Yeah. I mean, it it can be a big difference.

SPEAKER_05

So is that something that you could do for a customer is is come in and help them train the person in charge of the wastewater system on how to use those chemicals?

SPEAKER_00

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_05

Oh, that's good to know.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, we come in and we can do we can do training. We can either do it one-on-one or we can do it in a classroom setting. Um anyone that that wants to know more about how how this process works, we're willing to work with them.

SPEAKER_05

That's terrific. What's the thing you like most, just you personally, Ron Gracie, likes most about working with customers in the corrugated industry?

SPEAKER_00

It is very fulfilling when I go into a facility and they have all these issues and everything like that, and I'm able to basically I I I I get to watch the stress disappear off their face. You know, because I mean a lot of these guys, they're so busy, you know, they have a thousand and one task today, and that's just one more thing that's just gnawing at the back of their head. And so, you know, being able to go into these plants and and and work with them and and kind of take that load off of them and just, you know.

SPEAKER_05

It sounds like you're like a massage therapist for the wastewater system.

SPEAKER_00

For the stress, for the workday stress.

SPEAKER_05

Stress washes away in the wastewater. I love that. I love that idea. Um so is there anything else you want to tell me about Walla Walla and what they do in the corrugated industry or um yeah.

SPEAKER_00

So I mean, beyond just the uh the wastewater area, we also uh provide um uh chemistry for your starch kitchen. Um so we provide uh biocides, uh cleaners, um, you know, shameless plug here, but our clean tank HP is probably the best product we have. Um it does a really good job of cleaning out those starch lines and uh not just cleaning them but killing any bacteria that's in them.

SPEAKER_05

Nice. Nice. I like you to be proud of your products. You should be. That's part of that passion that our keynoter was talking about, right?

SPEAKER_00

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_05

Ron, before I let you go, this is a question I've been asking all my uh interview subjects, victims, I don't know what you would call it. Pretty friendly. A little bit of both. And that is um, what is one thing you wish your customers knew? Either about wastewater treatment, about working with suppliers, about the corrugated industry, what's one thing you wish your customers knew?

SPEAKER_00

Oh, that's a hard one.

SPEAKER_05

Um thing you'd like to tell them, because every single customer is listening right now.

SPEAKER_00

It's uh you know, if you're having issues, you know, reach out. You know, there's always someone that's gonna be there to help you. And you know, Tappy does an awesome job of really bringing in all those key players that can that you can reach out to and uh ask for help.

SPEAKER_05

That's a terrific answer. That's a terrific answer. Tappy's here for you, Walla Walla's here for you, Ron's here for you.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05

I love it. Thank you so much for coming by and talking to me today.

SPEAKER_00

Absolutely. Thank you for having me.

SPEAKER_05

I had a great time meeting all of these guests in Cleveland. Thanks for listening in to our conversations on this episode of Better Together. Check out the link on the landing page or visit corexpo.org. That's c o R E X P O.org for slideshows from the event, including scenes from the outstanding networking event at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And don't forget to mark your calendars for the 2024 Super Core Expo, September 8th through 12th, next year in Orlando, Florida. Remember please to subscribe and share better together to keep the conversation going. And look for our previous episode with more interviews from Core Expo 2023.

SPEAKER_02

Hello, everyone. This is Larry Montague, president and CEO of Tappy, the pulp, paper, packaging, tissue, and converter industry's go to resource for news, industry trends, and technical and management information. We hope you enjoy today's Better Together podcast. And remember, there are two types of people in our industry Tappy members and those who should be. Have a great day.