Good ideas become great solutions when they address problems in a novel way and yield tangible results. In line with the 2018 Global Technical Innovation Awards’ theme, ‘Thinking together’, the winning team from Sappi Maastricht Mill collaborated to bring about a packaging machine improvement that will impact our bottom line.

At the global awards ceremony held in Venice on May 6, Multilayer Headbox project team – Tjerk Boersma, Jos Daniels, Rob de Koning, Jean Peerlings and Peter Pijpers – were named the 2018 winners for designing a completely new ‘three layers in one headbox’ for paper board packaging that combines good printability with high bulk and good creasability.

This step-change technology was successfully applied to the rebuild of PM6, making Maastricht Mill the only producer worldwide to use this novel concept for its packaging product range. An added benefit is that it opens the possibility to develop other grades.

"With innovation must come delivery and successful management of concepts – from idea generation through to completion and a meaningful impact on our profitability," said Sappi CEO Steve Binnie. He stressed that innovation is at the heart of Sappi’s strategy. No growth is possible without innovation. He reminded the audience that for Sappi, innovation is not an end in itself, but rather it must provide a sustainable, competitive advantage that will make a significant difference. He praised the excellent collaboration which the projects displayed, and encouraged even closer collaboration between R&D, Sales and Marketing, HR and all other functions.