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ATLANTA, April 24, 2002 - Each year,
a substantial amount of energy is consumed in the production
of more than 100 million tons of paper and paperboard
in the United States. The Procter & Gamble Company
(NYSE: PG) and Atlanta's Institute for Paper Science
and Technology (IPST) hope to improve the efficiency
of papermaking to save energy and money. At a news conference
held at IPST, P&G today announced a donation of its
proprietary Pulsed Air Drying (PAD) technology to IPST
for further development and commercialization. Procter & Gamble's
donation to IPST, the leading pulp and paper research
institution and graduate school, includes four active
and pending U.S. patents and all associated intellectual
property.
Conventional paper machines dry paper
by passing the paper over heated metal cylinders. An
improvement over this technique, called impingement drying,
adds a steady flow of heated air to the drying process,
much like a hair or hand dryer. PAD technology is potentially
two to four times faster than impingement drying. PAD
technology uses pulses of air and heat with forward and
reverse flow to decrease drying time and improve energy
efficiency.
Every day, billions of consumers use
paper products - from toilet paper and paper towels to
packaging and shipping boxes. Because energy is a significant
cost in papermaking, PAD technology could reduce this
cost by 10 - 25%, depending on the paper grade. In addition
to potential energy savings, PAD technology may allow
for significant reductions in capital investment in conventional
drying equipment.
"Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham
and I would like to thank Proctor & Gamble and Atlanta's
Institute of Paper Science and Technology for their efforts
in the development and advancement of Pulsed Air Drying
technology. This technology could significantly impact
the energy efficiency of the paper industry," said
David Garman, Assistant Secretary or Energy Efficiency
and Renewable Energy at the Department of Energy. Garman
participated in a news conference at IPST today to announce
the donation.
"President Bush, in his National
Energy Policy, has charted a course that focuses the
Department of Energy's pursuit of industrial research
and development through voluntary public/private sector
partnerships. These partnerships maximize the return
on federal tax dollars spent on research, and accelerate
the pace of the technology making its way to the marketplace
or factory floor," said Garman.
"Our mission is to support the
paper industry by educating future technical leaders,
conducting innovative research, and transferring valuable
technology into commercial operations," said IPST
President James Ferris. "The PAD process has the
potential to impact the economics of drying paper and
other pressing and drying technologies. We're looking
forward to further developing the PAD technology, and
ultimately taking it to the market."
"IPST's keen understanding of
PAD technology, extensive expertise in papermaking processes,
and unique ability to leverage industry relationships
will enable them to realize this promising technology's
full potential," said Joel Monteith, director of
family care research and development at P&G.
-More-
PAD technology arose from P&G's
Family Care (tissue/towel) global business unit, as researchers
worked to develop a method that would speed up and improve
the efficiency of drying all types of paper during the
papermaking process.
According to Monteith, P&G is
currently focusing its tissue and towel R&D on other
promising technologies, but didn't want PAD technology
to sit on the shelf. The company hired an outside consultant
to help identify the most qualified institution to further
develop and commercialize the technology. IPST was chosen
due to its excellent reputation and extensive expertise
in paper science and research.
P&G is not able to devote resources
to commercialize all of its more than 27,000
patents. Through its External Business Development and Global Licensing
organization, P&G licenses many technologies and donates others
that are not essential to current product development activities
and can be best developed elsewhere. Because of its extensive R&D
efforts, P&G is granted on average more than one patent per
day.
The PAD technology is P&G's second
technology gift to IPST. In September 2000, the company
also donated its "Clay-filled Paper Technology" (CFT),
which reduces the amount of wood fiber used in paper
by replacing it with kaolin, a type of natural clay -
without affecting the paper's strength or softness.
"IPST recently ran a trial on
a commercial paper machine that demonstrated the concept
to be even more effective than earlier pilot-scale work
had shown. The results of the initial trial included
improved savings with current chemistry, making CFT attractive
even at today's low pulp prices," said David White,
IPST's assistant vice president of technology transfer.
A second trial is scheduled for June.
-More-
"Georgia makes more paper than
any state in the nation, and IPST is one of our most
respected research institutions. We're honored that P&G's
technologies have found a home here, where they have
the potential to make a significant economic impact," said
Georgia's Lt. Governor Mark Taylor, who welcomed participants
at today's donation event.
About IPST
Founded in 1929, the Institute for Paper Science and Technology
(IPST) IPST has established itself as the premier institute for
the advanced study of pulp and papermaking processes in the United
States. IPST is a privately funded graduate research institute
whose educational, scientific, and charitable purpose evolves
from its unique relationship with the pulp and paper industry.
Commercialization, not publication, is the end result of research
at IPST, which has been ranked 5th most innovative U.S. research
institution by the Research Foundation of the State University
of New York.
About Procter & Gamble
P&G markets 250 brands to five billion consumers in 130 countries.
P&G invests nearly $2 billion a year to develop and improve
its products - leading the way in R&D globally among consumer
products companies. P&G's External Business Development and
Global Licensing organization is charged with ensuring the company
maximizes the value of its "treasure trove" of technologies
by selling, licensing and, in some cases, donating these technologies.
The unit is also responsible for licensing select P&G brand
trademarks.
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