The Paper Industry International Hall of Fame’s membership roster will expand to include the late Dr. Otto Kress, a founder of RBI’s predecessor the Institute of Paper Chemistry and the late Irwin Pearl, who served as a researcher at the Institute for more than 30 years, advancing the field we know today as biorefining. 

Kress, Pearl and four others will join 129 previous members of the Paper Hall of Fame during induction ceremonies on Oct. 6 in Appleton. Others include Thomas Gardner, Niilo Heikki Hakkarainen, Charles Klass and Juhani Strömberg. This will be the 22nd induction class.

The Paper Industry International Hall of Fame recognizes individuals who, through their inventions, initiative and efforts, have built or improved paper and allied industries worldwide.

Each of the six inductees is being recognized in one or more categories, including Academic, Economics, Entrepreneur, Leadership, Inventor/Innovator, Service and Research & Development.  

Dr. Otto Kress

When the Institute of Paper Chemistry (now the Renewable Bioproducts Institute at Georgia Tech) opened in 1929, Dr. Otto Kress was responsible for the academic direction of the organization. From the beginning, his many contributions have been critical in establishing the success of the organization.

For the first 18 years of IPC’s existence, Dr. Kress served as the inaugural Technical Director, setting the tone for cutting-edge graduate programs for the industry, conducting invaluable research and maintaining a complete library on the subject. With his help, the Institute of Paper Chemistry became the first graduate program in pulp and paper sciences in the United States. He was the first practitioner and likely creator of an IPC academic program to produce “scientific generalists” who understood and could apply a wide range of scientific disciplines to paper manufacturing.

He navigated the treacherous conditions of the Great Depression and the economic impact of World War II, and was still able to energize and bring the American paper industry to the forefront of the international scene.  The substantial donations made by Dr Kress and his wife, Florence, to the IPC Foundation have grown during the years and have supported the graduate education of thousands of contributors to the industry through Paper Science and Engineering fellowships.

Dr. Irwin Pearl

Dr. Irwin Pearl strengthened the paper industry and many mills with his skills as a researcher in organic and analytical chemistry, leaving a vast legacy of knowledge and service.  Starting at the Institute of Paper Chemistry in 1941 as a research associate, Dr. Pearl was a pioneer in creating more value from wood by finding uses for lignin and other materials.  He was one of the first in the world to recognize and explore the hidden value of lignin in black liquor. This work not only laid a foundation for the creation of new industries, but it also helped save lives as one of the products he helped extract from lignin was used to treat thousands of people with a deadly infection

Dr. Pearl was a strong believer in the use of by-products to create new value-added products, and he saw lignin derivatives as a rich opportunity that could rival petroleum and coal tar as a source of synthetic materials. He showed that, with further chemical treatment, the lignin in black liquor from kraft pulping could yield useful lignosulfonates similar to those coming from sulfite pulping. The work he launched was ahead of its time, and today is known as biorefining.

Other honorees include:

• Thomas Gardner,whoconceived of and developed a new process for drying paper using air.  His inventions that resulted from this concept have been applied to a number of different aspects of papermaking and paper processing. 
• Niilo Heikki Hakkarainentook over as President and CEO of United Paper Mills at a time when it was suffering from severe financial problems.  The strategy he developed led to the success of what we know today as UPM, Finland’s strongest pulp and paper company and also one of the world’s largest. 
• Charles (Chuck) Klass has a long history of service to the paper industry from the 1970s. His contributions led to the commercialization of the metered size press, coating of deinked post-consumer recycled waste papers, the addition of fluorocarbons for grease resistance, and other innovations.
• Juhani Strömberg conceived of and spearheaded water-based label stock laminates, which development revolutionized the global market.  He also led the development of a superior glassine released paper, and influenced the development of better quality face papers.  The developments revolutionized the global market.

For more information, visit the Paper Industry International Hall of Fame.