Support the Business objective of satisfying its customers by providing credible reproducible and certifiable quality data that will result in product innovation, improved product uniformity and lower cost.

OBJECTIVE:

Provide a controlled TAPPI conditioned environment with routinely calibrated testing equipment and qualified lab resources that will be responsible for the following:

• Supporting process improvement through statistically valid measurement of key product characteristics in the manufacturing process.
• Raw material (paper and starch) evaluation, certification, auditing and innovation.
• Benchmarking primary competitors product for basis weight combinations and performance.
• Developing a baseline by grade of caliper, flat crush and ECT to be used to monitor changes and support Design and Marketing.
• Provide general problem solving skills as needed.

BENEFITS:

The over riding benefit from a lab and technical resource is that routine measurement (testing) provides facts and data that are key to surfacing variability and driving improvement into the process or product for the benefit of all the stakeholders. Several key benefits are:

• Reduction in variability and process improvement.
• Ability to systematically evaluate raw material suppliers on uniformity, adherence to specs, performance and value of product innovations.
• Data on competitors quality.
• Quick turnaround for problem solving.
  

TAPPI Lab Testing Capabilities:

• Edge Crush Test (combined board and finished boxes).
• Caliper (thickness).
• Flat Crush (10 SQ. IN. of combined board).
• Moisture % (paper and combined board).
• Pin Adhesion (wet and dry-all features).
• Box Compression.
• Basis Weight (for determining board combinations).
• Ring Crush (paper only).
• wettability (medium only).
• Porosity (paper and combined board for printability).
• Cobb (water absorbtion of paper and combined board).
• Mullen Burst (puncture of combined board and paper.)