Mr. Jan Sundholm selected to receive Arne Asplund mechanical pulping award

Published June 18, 2001 20.51.00 +2 GMT

In conjunction with the International Mechanical Pulping Conference in Helsinki, Finland, the Arne Asplund Mechanical Pulping Award Foundation presented the 2001 Arne Asplund Award to Mr. Jan Sundholm of the Central Laboratory KCL (Oy Keskuslaboratorio – Centrallaboratorium Ab) in Helsinki, Finland.

The Award, which is presented biennially, was established in 1985 to promote the development of new technology for the manufacture of high-yield pulp in refiners. The award commemorates the late Dr. Asplund's contribution to the pulp and paper industry worldwide. Mr. Sundholm is the eighth recipient since the Award was first presented in conjunction with the establishment of the foundation in 1985. The award consists of an 18-carat gold medal and an honorarium of SEK 25,000.

Mr. Jan Sundholm graduated from the Åbo Academy in 1974 and has since 1975 been associated with the Central Laboratory KCL. Since 1986 he is a senior research scientist at KCL.

Mr. Sundholm has studied various means to reduce the energy consumption in refiner mechanical pulping. In a pioneering work he showed 1983 the importance of low preheating time to reduce energy consumption in a process called PRMP. A few years later he showed how high-speed refining can not only reduce energy consumption in TMP but also decrease the loss in brightness. These findings have been of the greatest importance for several industrial applications. Furthermore, Jan Sundholm has contributed to our understanding of the importance of fiber characteristics for the properties of high quality SC and LWC papers based on TMP. These findings have been highly significant for the successful development of papers from mechanical pulps with the very highest demands on smoothness.

Prior winners Previous winners of the Arne Asplund Award are Dr. Douglas Atack (1987) or the Pulp and Paper Research Institute of Canada (PAPRICAN), Dr. Hans Giertz (1989), Norwegian Institute of Technology, Mr. W.D. May (1991) of PAPRICAN, Canada, Dr. Hans Höglund (1993) Deputy Director of Research at SCA, Sweden, Dr. Alkis Karnis (1995) of PAPRICAN, Canada, and Dr. Stuart Corson (1997) of the Forest Research Institute (PAPRO), New Zealand.

For further information, contact: Dr. Nils Hartler, Royal Institute of Technology, Chairman, Arne Asplund Mechanical Pulping Award Foundation, Tel. +46 8 767 26 48