Paper Industry
A Look at the United State’s Paper Industry
The pulp and paper industry is largely dominated by the United States, Canada, Sweden, Finland, Japan, Australasia, and Latin America. In addition to being one of the dominating forces in the industry, the United States also consumes more paper than any other country in the world. In fact,
during the time period from 1990 to 2002 alone, the consumption of paper within the United States rose from 84.9 million tons to 97.3 million tons.
The Booming Economy
All of this paper use and consumption in the United States is certainly
important to the economy. In 2001, pulp mills employed 7,218 people
for a total payroll of $414,452,000. Paperboard mills employed 48,773
people for a total payroll of $2,601,324,000 and paper mills employed
an amazing 114,670 for a total payroll of $6,162,914,000. Throw
in the total cost of materials for these three areas of paper manufacturing,
and it is an additional $34,870,991,000 being thrown into the economy
and another $71,987,278,000 in shipment costs.
Dominating United States Paper Industry Companies
There are a number of companies vying for a piece of the paper
products industry. In 2002, the top five companies in terms of net
sales were: International Paper, Georgia-Pacific Corp., Weyerhaeuser,
Kimberly-Clark Corporation, and Procter & Gamble Co.
International Paper
International
Paper is the world’s largest pulp and paper company. In
addition, it is the largest private land owner of United State’s
timberland. Employing approximately 83,000 people, International
Paper is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. The company was
originally formed in 1898 as the result of a merger of 17 northeastern
pulp and paper mills. As a result, it grew in both the United States
and internationally.
International Paper has gone on to acquire several other pulp and
paper mills, including HammerMill Paper Company in 1986 and Masonite
Corporation in 1988. It also acquired the German company of Zanders
Feinpapiere AG and the French company of Aussedet Rey in 1989.
Georgia-Pacific Corp.
Georgia- Pacific Corp.
is based in Atlanta, Georgia and, with approximately 61,000 employees,
is the second largest pulp and paper company in the world. Founded
in 1927 as the Georgia Hardwood Lumber Co., Georgia-Pacific Corp.
gradually expanded over the years until it changed its name to its
current name in 1956. Prior to 1957, the company focused primarily
on lumber mills and sawmills. At this time, it expanded to the pulp
and paper business and built a kraft pulp and linerboard mill in
Toledo, Oregon. It also acquired Great Northern Nekoosa Corp. in
1990 and Fort James Corp. in 2000. The company was later purchased
in 2005 by Koch Industries.
Weyerhaeuser
Weyerhaeuser
is a multinational pulp and paper corporation employing 55,200 people
in 18 different countries. Based in Federal Way, Washington, it
is the third largest company of its kind in the world and maintains
operations in Australia, Canada, China, France, Ireland, Mexico,
and Uruguay in addition to within the United States. It is the largest
private owner of softwood timberland in the word, with a total of
38 million acres spread through five different countries. In addition,
it is the third largest owner of United States timberwood.
Kimberly-Clark Corporation
Kimberly-Clark
Corporation produces paper-based products, including the brand
names of “Kotex” feminine hygiene products, “Kleenex”
facial tissue, “Wypall” utility wipes, “Cottonelle”
toilet paper, “Huggies” disposable diapers, and “Kim
Wipes” cleaning wipes. The company is based in Dallas, Texas
and employs approximately 63,900 workers.
Procter & Gamble Co.
Procter & Gamble
Co. is a global corporation that is based in Cincinnati, Ohio.
It manufactures a wide range of consumer products and employs 106,000
people.
The paper industry is a larger juggernaut in the
business world than many people fully realize. Yet, it is little
wonder this is the case when one considers the vast amount of products
and goods that utilize paper products in one way or another.
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