Process Techniques for Engineering High-Performance Materials

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The Process, the Product, and

Its Ultimate Life Span

What parameters actually control our process? How does process variation impact

on product performance from cradle to grave? How do product properties affect the

world around us?

For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public

relations, for Nature cannot be fooled.

Richard P. Feynman

People mistakenly assume that their thinking is done by their head; it is

actually done by the heart which rst dictates the conclusion, then com-

mands the head to provide the reasoning that will defend it.

Anthony de Mello

In the 1970s, a large American paper towel producer was dissatised with

its market position. Consumers thought that the brand offered little value

over generic alternatives and they were becoming less inclined to pay a

premium.

Like the competition, its tissue was made using the “wet-laid” Fourdrinier

process. At the heart of this massive system, a wet pulp mixture is sprayed

onto a fast-moving mesh belt. Much of the water is sucked away through

the porous belt during a vacuum step. The resulting damp pulp then passes

through an oven, where the delicate ber matrix bonds and is dried into its

nished form. The equipment is expensive to build and run but it generates

tons of tissue per hour.

Since the entire paper towel industry used similar equipment, it was dif-

cult for one company to have a signicant economic or performance advan-

tage over the others. In looking for a better business model, the company

purchased the rights to a Swedish “dry-laid” paper process. This system laid

down dry pulp onto the moving belt and used an adhesive technology to

bind the bers together. Energy consumption was reduced by eliminating

the drying step.

The Swedish product was intriguing because it produced a brous matrix

with excellent characteristics—strong sheets and plump rolls that could hog

a lot of retail shelf space. In theory, the offering had superior performance

over traditional tissue, while it was cheaper and more convenient than a

2 Process Techniques for Engineering High-Performance Materials

cloth rag. In focus groups, American consumers valued the look and feel of

the European samples over generic alternatives.

Top management was thrilled with the upside possibilities, while neglect-

ing to address the negative factors. Engineers hastily congured a mill in

Wisconsin to produce the new offering, using the abundant softwood pulp

supply in that area. An aggressive advertising campaign was employed to

introduce a revolutionary new product to a skeptical public. Television com-

mercials showed the towels surviving a cycle in a washing machine, while

generic sheets disintegrated into pulp.

After the product launch, consumer reception was lukewarm, despite

aggressive advertising, promotion, and generous discount coupons. People

were intrigued by the hype, but were disappointed with the actual perfor-

mance. They found the towels unsuited for the routine tasks of cleaning win-

dows and picking up spills. The dry-laid tissue simply did not absorb water

as well as the conventional alternatives.

An internal assessment was conducted to identify why the U.S. product

was inferior to the original European samples. It was determined that the

process was designed and optimized for Scandinavian wood bers. The

pulp blends from the Upper Midwest were ideal for the Fourdrinier pro-

cess, but did not perform well on the dry-laid system. An ambitious man-

agement group ignored fundamental ber science and their organization’s

knowledge of consumer preferences in a rush to introduce a differentiated

product. They overlooked facts that were not convenient to the business

plan.

A crash program was implemented to correct the problems. Formulation

and process changes addressed the water absorbency issues, but the damage

to the brand’s image could not be repaired. Corporate management became

disillusioned with the situation and wrote off their investment in the new

technology, eventually divesting the entire paper division.