The Ken Maddern award is given to the best peer reviewed paper published in APPITA Journal in the year, and Tony Johnson along with Murray Ellis of Australian Paper were the recipients. Competition was stiff this year, with 12 excellent mill papers presented at the annual major pulp and paper industry event held in Rotorua from 11-13 April.
The paper, Liquor Cycle Optimisation, was based on optimisation work carried out by Beca AMEC and subsequently implemented by Australian Paper that resulted in nearly a 10% increase in pulp output from the Maryvale mill. The study identified bottlenecks and process improvements and subsequent solid work executed by the mill meant the production gains were realised.
This was a great team effort, with specialists from Beca AMEC combining with AMEC colleagues in Vancouver, Canada to deliver the optimisation research.