Tony Lyons

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A Multidimensional Leader Dedicated to the Industry!

Dr. Lyons has more than 36 years of experience in the areas of paper coating, paper finishing, and mineral pigments for paper coating, paper filling and other specialty applications. He received his Doctorate in Chemical Engineering from Lehigh University. He also holds Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in Chemical Engineering from the State University on New York at Buffalo. His work experiences include time with Westvaco and Repap Technologies, Inc. He retired in 2017 from IMERYS after 25 years and established Paper Lyons LLC for the purpose of doing science and technology consulting. Tony is an adjunct professor at University of Maine and Western Michigan University. He has been an active member of TAPPI since 1985 and has volunteered for various leadership roles, including being elected to and serving on the Board of Directors. He holds patents in coating pigments, coating applications, coated inkjet papers, agricultural applications and barrier coating.

“I found it very impactful learning that there’s more to Standards than the technicalities of Standards.” – Dr. Tony Lyons

1. What sparked your interest in Standards?

What drove my interest is how dependent the whole industry is on Standards. In particular, the work I did in the industry; I have been involved with R&D my whole career and it was important that we all spoke the same language. As I went to the supply side of the industry, it became important to relate to customers and to be on the same page. That’s my underlying motivation with getting involved in Standards.

2. Is there any particular review that has impacted you? Please tell us about your experience.

Five or six years ago I worked on a Standard related to the brightness of pigments. I was involved in the pigment industry for most of my career. The measurement of brightness is very important and it’s something that all our customers paid attention to. It was a Standard we paid attention to in terms of quality and control of our products. The Working Group Chair had resigned, and I was asked to fill the void. I found out that it was more than a technical review. Although there were technical corrections to be made, the negotiating process with others showcased how important this Standard was to the industry. There were folks who were just looking at it from a technical standpoint and wanted to replace the TAPPI Standard with an ISO Standard, which would have been a total change for the entire industry in terms of how they looked at pigments and how they measured the brightness of pigments. I found it very impactful learning that there’s more to Standards than the technicalities of Standards.

3. Why do you think Standards are important? How have you used it in your field?

Being involved with R&D allowed us to get involved with new things all the time, and we didn’t always have the expertise for those various tests to get into a new area. For instance, barrier coating is a very recent trend in development. My group was involved in developing pigments and coating formulations that could be used for barrier coating. It was important to have TAPPI Standards to refer to and develop our testing capability to verify if our theories were correct. It allowed us to know if we were going in the right direction or not. For all those reasons, I believe TAPPI Standards are very important. It’s also a great resource for new people in the industry to learn about these test procedures and why it’s important to do them the way the Standard prescribes.

4. You’ve been involved with TAPPI since the 80s. Tell us about your experience.

I have actually been involved with TAPPI since 1985; I was heavily involved in three divisions. There was a division once upon a time called the Finishing and Converting division which was a very strong division at the time. From the very beginning of attending Finishing and Converting conferences I started to get involved in leadership positions. Someone asked me to join a committee and to become an officer in that committee, which eventually led to a position in division leadership. I became division Chair at a very young age.

When the Finishing and Converting division ended, I became more involved with Coating although I was already involved with the Coating division throughout most of my career as well. I was involved in a lot of different things, from planning conferences, leading technical committees, being on the division council, and then chair. I have had lots of involvement with TAPPI, including serving on the Board of Directors.

5. What would you tell people that have never participated in Standard activities?

I would tell them that it is gratifying to ensure that we continue to have these standard methods available. One does not need to be an expert to participate. Anyone with a few years of paper testing experience and a science background is qualified to participate. One does not always need to vote up or down on a method or standard. One can abstain when not sure. I found it took a few years of participation to get my confidence and to fully understand the process. So, there is no time better than now to get involved.

6. Does working with Standards give you a sense of fulfillment?

It does! I do get a strong sense of fulfillment getting involved with Standards. If these Standards were to go away because of lack of support, it would leave a big hole in the industry. I ran into the issue several times of people not stepping up and getting involved with Standards and found myself stepping into the void of helping to keep a Standard alive. We need more of us to do so.

7. Tell us a bit about yourself? (hobbies, education, and passion)

I have a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering which I obtained from Lehigh University. An interesting bit about me is that I didn’t have any background in the paper industry going into it, so I had to learn everything I know today on the job. I had a good foundation with a Chemical Engineering degree and the majority of the technology in the paper industry are based upon chemical engineering knowledge and skills. However, I had to learn the language and specifics of what applies to the paper industry.

I started Paper Lyons three years ago when I retired from IMERYS. I wanted a transition business into retirement; it kept me involved in the industry. Also, I have done a lot of consulting for my former employer IMERYS. I’m a technical consultant for paper and packaging.

I have several passions. I love music. I love to exercise. Even in my older age I still run every other day to keep in shape. I play golf and I play some tennis. I love watching sports. My favorite team is the Buffalo Bills, and I’m a very happy man since they beat the Pittsburgh Steelers last night! My Buffalo Bulls football had an undefeated season this year and ranked in the top 25 in the AP for the first time in the history of the program. I like to play the guitar; I try to develop my artistic side and be more multi-dimensional. 

8. If you could describe the value of TAPPI membership in one word, what would it be?

The word I always used is networking! It encompasses a lot of the benefits I get from TAPPI. I made a lot of friends through TAPPI. I’ve learned a great deal about the industry from those friends and colleagues that I’ve become acquainted with. TAPPI itself has a lot of opportunities to learn, including courses amongst other things; but to me it comes down to networking. There’s been plenty of times when people have recognized me because of my involvement with TAPPI and being in front of a large amount of people through my volunteer work and presentations. The exposure was a great benefit, especially when visiting customers. To have a customer recognize you right away and be happy that you’re there was terrific and was of tremendous help to my company.

Interview conducted/ written by Souadou Camara
Assisted by Mary Anne Cauthen

Special thanks to Editor in Chief: Janet LoBue

Thank you, Tony Lyons for your contribution to TAPPI!

If you would like to share your experience with Standards, TIPs or ISO TC 6, please write to standards@tappi.org and the TAPPI Standards team will be happy to interview you.

TAPPI Standards guidelines require that all TAPPI members receive notification of any proposed new Standard or TIPs. This message is being sent to you because you are a TAPPI member; have purchased TIPs or Standards products from TAPPI; or because you have previously expressed interest in this topic.

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