10 June 2021. For the ZELLCHEMING Virtual Days, the international paper and pulp community gathered on a digital platform for a total of three days, from June 8 to 10: More than 635 participants and 65 sponsors and partner companies took advantage of the virtual stage, where intensive exchange of information and casual networking could be easily combined.
A good 55 % of the registered visitors are employees of paper, board and pulp manufacturers or work in science, trade, converting and associations. 18 % of the participants had logged in from abroad. The various sessions were well attended, with more than 200 people following the panel discussion at the start of the event, for example. In total, registered visitors spent more than 42,000 minutes on the platform over two days.
"With this event, we have recognized the signs of the times and boldly broken new ground. I am pleased that we have been able to achieve complete success with it," explains Gerrit Lund, the outgoing chairman of the ZELLCHEMING association. "We are proud to have lived up to our claim of being the platform for professional technical exchange for all those involved in the development of sustainable paper and cellulose-based products. Our team, as well as all participants, sponsors and partner companies who actively supported us, had to complete an enormous learning curve within a very short time - but: it was worth it!"
Petra Hanke, Managing Director of ZELLCHEMING Service GmbH, explains: "The ZELLCHEMING Virtual Days were organized with a high-quality standard and the support of experienced service providers, we have set a new standard for ourselves. The decision to set up a live studio for speakers and presenters at the Rhein-Main Congress Center in Wiesbaden has also proved very successful. We were even able to offer a small foretaste of the ZELLCHEMING-Expo 2022!"
The ZELLCHEMING Virtual Days kicked off on June 8 with the association's annual general meeting, which was held online and focused on the realignment of technical committees and district groups as well as board elections. This was followed on June 9 and 10 by a wide-ranging program of more than 70 lectures and presentations. In addition to topics with high relevance for the pulp and paper industry topics such as Industry 4.0, current innovation approaches of the industry on the way to a climate-friendly bio-economy were addressed. Suppliers were involved via best practice applications and workshops. The ZELLCHEMING technical committees also presented their work.
Ulrich Wittmann, who took over from Gerrit Lund as chairman of the ZELLCHEMING association, moderated one of the program highlights: the panel discussion "Building block of the bioeconomy: paper-, board- and cellulose-based products with a future". He spoke with Mona Neubaur, NRW state chairwoman, Bündnis ‘90/Die Grünen, Andreas Helbig, Managing Director, Seda Germany and board spokesman FFI (Fachverband Faltschachtelkarton-Industrie), Winfried Schaur, President Verband Deutscher Papierfabriken and Stefan Radlmayr, Managing Director Silphie Paper, about the prospects for sustainable fiber-based products, especially in the field of packaging.
"We have set an example with this event: Internally and externally. We will build on this in the future," said Ulrich Wittmann.
The next ZELLCHEMING-Expo will be held in Wiesbaden, Germany, from June 29 to July 1, 2022.