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Zellcheming 2024 opened its doors yesterday in Wiesbaden. The panel discussion entitled “On the way to climate-neutral paper production” kicked off the first day of the Expo.
The moderators, Prof. Dr. Helga Zollner-Croll, Professor for Biogenic Fibers, Vice Dean of the Munich University of Applied Sciences and Chairwoman of the ZELLCHEMING Association, and Dr.-Ing. Frank Meltzer, Director Technical Sales & Marketing, Mercer Pulp Sales and Vice Chairman of the ZELLCHEMING Association, invited the following guests to the stage:
- Hans-Christoph Gallenkamp (Die Papierindustrie, Felix Schoeller)
- Michail Ginsburg (OutNature/Schwarz Gruppe)
- Ekkehard Griep (Vereinten Nationen)
- Uwe Knotzer (Knauf Gruppe)
- Markus Wildberger (Koehler Innovation & Technology GmbH)
The discussion focused on partnership, creativity and innovation. The panelists agreed that the pulp and paper industry is an important enabler for achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
“We are an innovative industry and our employees are highly motivated to make the value chain more sustainable,” said Hans-Christoph Gallenkamp, President of the German Pulp and Paper Association.
Dr. Uwe Knotzer of the Knauf Group was convinced: “CO 2 is becoming a currency! His company has set itself ambitious targets, for example with regard to CO2 savings, and now expects its suppliers to reflect this ambition and clearly document their measures and results.”
Mikhail Grinsburg, who brought the retail perspective from his group of companies, believes in the disruptive power of the industry “to find new solutions and to question the existing ones in order to become even better.”
Dr. Ekkehard Griep, UNO, was impressed by how deeply “the economical use of resources is embedded in this industry.”
And Dr. Markus Wildberger of Koehler clearly and succinctly outlined his vision of the paper industry in 2030, the year the UN has set for the implementation of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals: “Sustainable and green!”
Great get-together atmosphere!
Many exhibitors and attendees celebrated into the night at the Get Together in the North Hall! There was a lot of dancing, laughing and partying – a great end to the first day of the show! And some of them were already preparing for tomorrow’s after show event, the live broadcast of Germany vs. Austria in the European Championship competition!