Why Join?

As a member of RPTA, you gain access to a worldwide network of peers and a non-profit association that provides education and joint effort toward common goals in the recycled paperboard industry. Companies are members of RPTA. Individuals in those companies are afforded membership by virtue of their company's membership.

Membership Benefits

Through the member network and staff and volunteer work, membership in RPTA is valuable to companies and their employees. Here are the many ways RPTA members benefit:

PRODUCTS

Educational and Technical Documents — RPTA has produced a variety of bulletins and manuals covering a broad range of topics from boilouts to metal in board. These publications are used for educating customers and/or for teaching aids for new hires or those new to the industry.

Meetings and seminars — RPTA holds various seminars, roundtable discussions, and webinars designed to keep membership informed of new or improved operating practices, new technology or products from vendors or to address problem solving issues common to most properties like safety, threading practices, furnish, stock cleaning, etc.

Task Force Meetings — RPTA sets up and facilitates meetings where focused groups by discipline meet regularly to discuss new or developmental products, processes, or technology and to discuss issues common to the membership.

Benchmarking Studies — RPTA collects and reports on various industry statistics for use by member companies. Some of the current benchmarking studies include physical properties, machine efficiency, boiler efficiency, and energy use.

Comprehensive Program —RPTA has developed and maintains the proprietary Comprehensive Program for Food-Contact Paperboard Produced From Recycled Fiber. This is an industry document, recognized worldwide, that undergoes updates frequently to assure customers that recycled board is appropriate for food-contact packaging. A company must be a member of RPTA to use the Comprehensive Program.

Historical Documentations — Because RPTA, established in 1953 as BRDA and renamed RPTA in 1991, represents a substantial amount of history in the recycled fiber based paper making business segment, a substantial and documented history is available for a variety of subjects. This archived knowledge is available to members.

SERVICES

Project Studies — RPTA can assist a team of volunteers to work on specific short-term topics such as equipment evaluations, process evaluations and other topics.

Research — Staff members can pursue ideas independently and report on those efforts that may benefit the membership. Some projects may be investigatory while others require academic involvement, laboratory tests, beta trials, and eventually vendor and mill involvement.

Problem Solving — RPTA can assist in problem solving papermaking related issues. The Association represents a network of companies and subject matter experts. RPTA can act as the conduit to get members the information they need.

Read more about our membership criteria.


LATEST NEWS

2023 Industry Profile Study
The 2023 Industry Profile Study has been published and distributed to members. The study included 209 grade samples off 65 paper machines at 47 RPTA-member mills. Members can access this report, and prior year reports, at this member-only page. Each member company also received custom, confidential Excel workbooks by email with the samples from their paper machines identified.

Narrow Roll Safety Guideline
Narrow rolls, also known as ribbon rolls, represent a heightened risk of injury due to their unstable configuration. A task team of RPTA members developed a guideline that provides options that mills may consider to protect employees who handle narrow rolls, or will be in the vicinity of narrow rolls. The Guideline is available at this web page.

Summer 2023 Webinar
On July 20th we held a webinar on Treatment Technologies for Wastewater Reuse, presented by Everett Gill and Kristen Jenkins of Brown and Caldwell Engineering. The webinar covered technologies that can reduce the concentration of one or more chemicals in process water or mill effluent. Presentation slides and recordings from the webinar are available to RPTA members only at this web page.

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UPCOMING EVENTS

2023 RPTA Fall Roundtable
NEW PAPER MILL TECHNOLOGY
The annual member-only event will be held October 18 and 19 in Kalamazoo, Michigan. This year’s Roundtable will include:

  1. Seminar by Voith and Valmet
  2. Group Dinner
  3. Tour of Graphic Packaging Mill Tour

Use this link to register.
And this link for detailed information on the Roundtable, including travel information.