Scavenger Hunt

July 15, 2025

Scavenger Hunt

Many companies have been announcing divestitures, closing or sales in the last few weeks.

Time to look and see if some of these permanently idled facilities have anything you can use.

Caution--do not go after things that are difficult to remove. You will end up with more money in them than new would cost and all without a warranty.

What to go after? Motors (but test them first). Pumps (but open them up to see if they have any life left). Refiners. Perhaps switchgear (be careful!). Autolines.

Generally, go after things that are stand alone useful. Items that are built into the buildings cost too much to dismantle and reinstall.

What is your opinion? Drop me a line at jim.thompson@ipulpmedia.com. I would like to hear from you.

And further by the way, I come to mills and talk to various departments about many subjects. To arrange my custom visit to your mill, just email me at jim.thompson@ipulpmedia.com or call me at 678-206-6010.

Young Engineering Manager of the Year, call for nominations

We are looking for an individual who has done an extraordinary project, one that almost defies belief. Its extraordinary features can be schedule, technology, cost or all three. There is an age limit on the manager eligible for this award: they must be under 35 years old when they completed the project.

We have often gotten nominees that go something like this, "I nominate Joe because he has done a great job of running our engineering department for the last fifteen years." Quite frankly, we are not interested in such nominees.

However, if you know someone who has led a very exceptional project in the recent past (the last two or three years) and meets our age requirement, we want to know about it. We want to honor them and hold them up as an example for Engineering Managers in every pulp and paper mill around the world.

Just send your nomination, with as much details as you can provide, to jim.thompson@ipulpmedia.com. We will seriously consider it.

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Please write when we tickle your brain cells! Email jthompson@taii.com