By Martin Bayliss
There is nothing more fulfilling in life than discovering
something new. From the child that finds a new toy to the gourmet with a
new dish, the fashionista with her new dress or the techie with the latest
electronic wizardry, people are rarely happier than with a novelty.
Some may say that this is an unhealthy obsession, a trivialization of
the serious business of discovering the eternal truths within. Others may
object that in fact humanity is never happier than with what is already
well known. Perhaps there is truth in both views.
But the lure of the unknown has been a vital element in human development
since man first discovered how to use language, to make fire or to wield
weapons.
How different our world would be if men through the ages had not felt
driven to explore beyond their home environs, often at great risk to themselves.
From Odysseus to Marco Polo, Columbus to Cook, Amundsen to Armstrong, the
courage and skills of the great explorers has changed the lives of us all.
Similarly in the world of the intellect, the passion for new ideas and
knowledge has enriched our world, bringing physical and spiritual benefits
to billions of people. The great names in the history of philosophy and
science - Aristotle, Newton, Darwin, Einstein etc - are memorable because
they opened doors whose existence had never before been imagined.
In technology, the same is true. The fruits of technical development that
we now find essential - electricity, the motor car, telephone or computers,
for example - were all unimagined by the vast majority at the
time they were invented. And, it should be added, unappreciated by the
mass of conventional thinkers long after they had become known.
These great names from the past have had an impact on all of us. We all
have our own lists of the most important but, whoever they may be, a part
of their appeal lies not in the success of their invention or idea but
in the romance of its novelty. Indeed, while most people have heard of
Newton, few really understand how his ideas helped shape the world.
The search for innovation - a word often used for something slightly different
that is designed to bring commercial success without necessarily offering
much practical benefit - is a development based on this human desire for
freshness. It is a word that was much heard from speakers at the Tissue
World conference in Nice in March this year, as in 2007.
Now one cannot expect new theories of evolution or relativity to crop
up very often. A university professor suggested to me many years ago that
there have been only about five completely original ideas since the Ancient
Greeks, though I suspect most of us could suggest rather more than that.
Nonetheless, 'new' or 'innovative' are overused words. And needless novelty
can be dramatically unsuccessful - remember New Coke? At the same time,
though, if you don't try, you certainly won't succeed. It is no surprise
that those masters of innovation and enterprise, the Americans, are world
leaders in real revolutionary change, not just in repackaging
old ideas.
One of the pleasures of working as a journalist is that one is regularly
confronted with 'new' developments. Companies announce new
products, new investments, strategies or managers. Some of
them,even in our mature industry - are genuinely interesting:
commercially, such as the massive expansion in China in recent
years; or technically, such as the latest developments in structured or
textured tissue or evolutions in chemicals technology. In this issue, we
introduce two new developments which, while not earth-shaking, are definitely
unusual and noteworthy. More than that, they are inspirational because
we can understand them. We feel they are developments within
our reach, intellectually and even financially. They come not
from the big companies that dominate R&D, markets and
investment, but from small companies both new to the industry.
In our Brazil country report we report on Propaper, a well-established
trader and more recent investor in converting that has taken the plunge
into tissue making. Nothing terribly new about that path, but Propaper
is believed to be the first company outside Asia to have installed a 100%
Chinese paper machine. Half the cost per ton, according to the company.
Who will be next?
And we also report on a small Greek converter, Meimari Kountouraki , which has had great success by finding a niche in the market with
a
simple but effective idea - jumbo rolls of kitchen towel. Why
didn't I think of that? you might say.
Tissue World and its readers love such stories of enterprise and innovation.
If your company has done something original or unusual, however modest
in scale, please let us know. We would be pleased to keep our readers informed.TW
Write to me at martin_bayliss@tissueworld.com with
your comments.
