July 2008
By Mark Rushton, Editor, PPI magazine, Graeme Rodden, Editor, Pulp & Paper magazine, Annie Zhu, Features Editor, PPI magazine, Felicia Willis, Associate Editor, Pulp & Paper magazine and Rhiannon James-Van Beuningen, Senior Vice President, Media Products, RISI
1. Teguh Ganda Wijaya, APP
The CEO of APP simply must appear at the top of the list. Just 30 years ago, the company consisted of one mere tiny paper mill in Surabaya, Indonesia. Now look at it; number three in the world with an annual combined pulp, packaging and converting capacity of over 15 million tonnes/yr and is probably the most talked about company in the pulp and paper business globally. The illusive Teguh Ganda Wijaya maybe low profile, but he makes no bones about where he wants to be in the future. In one of his latest and very rare public messages, he stated: “It is APP’s vision to become the 21st Century’s premiere, world class pulp and paper manufacturer – a company dedicated to providing superior value to customers, employees and stakeholders”.
A company that has an incredible and rapid rise the like of APP is bound to attract some criticism and it is no stranger to controversy, especially over its fiber supply which is monitored, analysed and scrutinised on an almost daily basis by every environmental group in the region and beyond. But APP is adamant that it rigorously enforces one of the world’s strictest chain-of custody systems as well as owning one of the largest sustainably managed pulp wood plantations.
Since 1992, APP has focused its investments in the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta region in China, building large scale pulp and papermaking enterprises and installing the latest technology. Gold East, Ningbo Zhonghua, Gold Huasheng, Gold Hong Ye and Hainan Jinhai are just some of the high profile pulp and papermaking centers.
APP is part of the Sinar Mas Group which was founded by Mr. Eka Tjipta Wijaya, Teguh’s father, a prominent Chinese entrepreneur from Asia. The group’s four core businesses include pulp and paper, agriculture, food, real estate development and other industries linked to the pulp and paper industry.
2. John Faraci, International Paper
Where else but near the summit of the Top 10 would you find John Faraci, chairman and CEO of International Paper (IP)? Although it has gone through a restructuring, divesting assets such as four coated paper mills in the US that became Verso Paper, IP still headed PPI’s Top 100 companies in 2007 with 2006 sales of $21 billion from its pulp, paper and converting operations. It shows the size of IP that Verso immediately joined PPI’s Top 100. Now, IP has its sights on Weyerhaeuser’s containerboard , packaging and recycling unit in a $6 billion deal expected to be complete by September. Faraci has led the company since 2003 after serving as executive vice president and CFO from 2000-2003. Recently, he was elected chairman of the AF&PA. Under Faraci’s guidance, IP has successfully plotted a new business course while continually remaining one of America’s 100 Most Admired Companies, according to the annual Fortune Magazine survey, which assesses: innovation, people management, use of corporate assets, social responsibility, quality of management, financial soundness, long-term investment value and quality of products and services.
3. Jouko Karvinen, Stora Enso
Recently voted as RISI’s European CEO of the Year, Jouko Karvinen has been hard at work putting pulp and papermaking giant Stora Enso on the right track for future challenges. He hit the ground running when he took up the post around 18 months ago and has quickly earned himself something of a reputation as a leader at Stora Enso who is not afraid to make unpleasant decisions, in fact to the extent that he was named as “Finland’s most hated man” by that country’s press when closures were announced. In his first year as CEO, he has made major changes from top to bottom within the organization, including capacity cuts, exiting of unprofitable markets and the selling off of its profitable merchanting division. His management style, he says, is very relaxed, but he believes that it’s when things are going well that then is the time to start worrying. His vision for the long term future includes further expansion into emerging markets, especially Russia, and concentrating on added value innovations in papermaking where fiber replaces other fossil fuel based products wherever possible. Karvinen previously held high level positions both inside and outside the industry at Philips and ABB. At ABB he worked in the Automation Division and served on the group executive committee.
4. Cheung Yan, Nine Dragons Paper
When it comes to power and influence, this lady has it in spades. As the founder and head of Nine Dragons, Cheung Yan has not just made her mark on the global pulp and paper industry, she’s made a huge crater in the world of international business. According to the Forbes’ 2007 China Rich List, Cheung is the 11th wealthiest person in the country with an estimated net worth of $3.4 billion. She also makes an appearance on the Forbes list of top 100 most powerful women in the world.
Cheung is also a mover and shaker in the Chinese business and political world. She is a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and the vice chairman of the Women’s Federation of Commerce of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce. Cheung is also an honorary citizen of the City of Dongguan, Guangdong Province, China and was awarded the title of “Worldwide Chinese Ambassador of Love” in September 2006.
Together with her husband, Ming Chung Liu, Cheung founded America Chung Nam (ACN), the largest exporter of recovered paper from the US and leading exporter in Europe and Asia. Being such a large player, ACN has a major influence on the swings and roundabouts in the global recovered paper market and Cheung could be included in the Power List for this reason alone. However, she is also the founder and chairlady of Nine Dragons, a powerhouse in the global containerboard market. Established in 1995, it’s no secret that Nine Dragons has rapidly expanded to become a leading player in the packaging arena, adding so many machines in recent years that it’s been hard to keep track of what they are doing where. Whether this fast paced expansion strategy can be maintained is the cause of much speculation within the industry currently. However, one thing is certain, all eyes will remain focused on this powerful lady’s next move, wherever it may be.
5. José Luciano Penido, Votorantim Celulose e Papel (VCP)
Latin America is one of the fastest growing regions in the pulp and paper industry and one of the people who has clearly made his mark on the sector over the past few years is José Luciano Penido. Penido was crowned the RISI Latin American CEO of the Year in 2007, only three years after joining the industry. Previously, Penido was the CEO of Samarco, a leader in the iron ore mining and pelletizing industry for eleven years. He has been at the helm of VCP since January 2004 and in that time Penido has embarked upon a remarkable path which has included changing the company focus, setting up several joint ventures with other leading players in the industry and setting his sights firmly on new expansion projects.
The company’s two main growth areas will be the “Horizonte Project” which is taking place in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, and involves 1.3 million tonnes/yr of new pulp capacity due to start up in May 2009. The second one is the “Losango Project” in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, which includes a further 1.3 million tonnes/yr of capacity to start up in 2011. As a result of Penido’s efforts, by 2010, VCP will be a company 92% based in pulp and 8% in paper. That’s a complete change for a company that at the turn of the century was almost 100% focused on paper.
6. Raymond Lee, Lee & Man Paper Manufacturing Limited
Raymond Lee is the young, dynamic CEO and founder of Lee & Man Paper Manufacturing Limited. The company was listed on the main board of Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2003. The group is principally engaged in the manufacture of linerboard, corrugating medium and pulp, with four paper production plants in China at present. In addition, the group also owns Vietnam Lee & Man Paper Manufacturing Ltd which is the first containerboard production plant outside China.
Apart from developing the containerboard business, the group also has a pulp mill in California and has set up several overseas offices for raw material procurement in USA and Europe. At present, the group has eight production machines in operation, with an annual capacity of 2.08 million tonnes, and due to expansion, the group will have fourteen paper production machines this year at its five plants and an annual capacity of containerboard will reach 4 million tonnes.
Lee is primarily in charge of corporate planning, investment projects and acquisition of heavy production machines for the group. With over ten years of operational experience in paper manufacturing and is experienced in product development and procurement of raw materials and has won a number of coveted entrepreneurial awards including the 2002 Young Industrialist Award of Hong Kong and the 2003 Hong Kong Ten Outstanding Young Persons Selection. He has also received the Bronze Bauhinia Star. Lee holds a bachelor’s degree in Applied Science from the University of British Columbia in Canada.
7. Chen Hongguo, Shandong Chenming Paper
Recently voted as RISI’s Asian CEO of the Year, Chen Hongguo heads up Shandong Chenming Paper, a leading Asian producer operating many mills producing a variety of paper and board grades. Chen has worked his way up the ranks in the Chinese pulp and paper industry. Before taking on his current role, he was a technician, plant manager, branch company director, vice general manager, general manager and eventually chairman of Wuhan Chenming. From 1998 to 2001, Chen set to work on saving an old state company, Hubei Hanyang Paper Company, from being on the verge of bankruptcy. His time there was hailed as a miracle in terms of state company reform. He became chairman of Shandong Chenming Paper in May 2001 and under his leadership, the company has invested in newsprint, containerboard, coated woodfree, boxboard, lightweight and SC paper production lines. The group has also acquired companies including Yanji Chenming, Jiangxi Chenming, Jilin Chenming, Zhanjiang Chenming. Chen has not just focused on internal markets though, he has set up offices in medium and large cities in China, as well as America, Japan, Australia, and India. Shandong Chenming is currently ranked as number 46 on PPI’s most recent Top 100 list of pulp and paper companies.
8. AJ Devanesan, APRIL
Asia Pacific Resources International Holdings Limited (APRIL) is another Asian powerhouse which, although physically huge in terms of operations, also likes to maintain a below-the-radar profile. The president of the company, AJ Devanesan, has already had an impressive 23 year career, 13 of them top level positions at companies such as RMG International and its affiliates, Indorayon and PEC-Tech. Starting out as a chemical engineer, Devanesan had a vision to become the “world’s best project manager and would work harder than anyone else in the team and lead by example”, he said in a recent interview given to APPITA Journal.
And deliver results Devanesan certainly has. Key accomplishments under his belt in recent years include the greenfield construction of APRIL’s pulp mills and paper mill in Riau Indonesia as well as a paper mill in Changshu, China. The single line pulp mills are some of the world’s largest. At the major mill complex at Kerinci in Riau province, on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia the company combines the favourable forestry conditions of the Riau area with ongoing research and development to produce high yields from sustainable plantations.
Devanesan holds a Bachelor of Technology degree in Chemical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology and is a fellow of the Wharton Business School, University of Pennsylvania. He is an active member of various professional organizations in the engineering and pulp and paper industries.
9. Heiko Liedeker, FSC
Although he recently resigned as executive director, Liedeker oversaw a complete transformation of the world-renowned NGO. From a desperate financial condition in 2001, Liedeker built a global organization that became the predominant standard for forest certification. And, it is in a sound financial position. He led a comprehensive review of the NGO’s core programs: standard setting and accreditation. The FSC now has more than 8,400 certificates in 85 countries, more than 100 million ha of certified forests and plantations. Although other forest certification programs exist, there can be no doubt that it is the FSC program that carries the most influence worldwide.
10. Charles G. Koch, Koch Industries
Charles Koch is chairman of the board, and CEO of Koch industries, a position he has held since 1967. Under his leadership, Koch Industries has been transformed into a dynamic and diverse group of companies with about $98 billion in revenues, 80,000 employees and a presence in nearly 60 countries. The US based company, entered the pulp and paper industry with its acquisition of two fluff pulp mills from Georgia-Pacific in May 2004. Based on the success of these sites, Koch purchased Georgia-Pacific in 2005. As one of the world’s leading manufacturers and marketers of forest and consumer products, Georgia-Pacific’s familiar consumer tissue and towel brands are Quilted Northern, Angel Soft, Brawny, Sparkle, Colhogar, Lotus and Vanity Fair. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia-Pacific employs approximately 50,000 people at more than 300 locations in North America, South America and Europe.
RISI Power List - Top 11 through 20
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