In this edition of the Spotlight, ZELLCHEMING tells us about its upcoming ZELLCHEMING-Expo event, taking place from 1st-3rd July in the RheinMain CongressCenter (RMCC) in Wiesbaden, Germany.
In 2025, ZELLCHEMING - the Association of Pulp and Paper Chemists and Engineers - will look back on 120 years of association history. At the same time, the ZELLCHEMING-Expo will celebrate its 75th anniversary. The board and management of the association have therefore decided to combine the two anniversaries - and thus celebrate 195 years in style!
The unique success story of ZELLCHEMING is due to the commitment and work of the members in the professional and technical committees and the management of the association. These committees and their initiatives were and are involved in many ways in the economic development and political framework of our industry in Germany, Europe and worldwide. The ZELLCHEMING-Expo, a trade fair that attracts several thousand visitors every year, is an expression and proof of this close interaction.
The RheinMain CongressCenter (RMCC) in Wiesbaden is expected to be fully booked again this year. Bookings for exhibition space have been above last year’s level since January. “In view of the still difficult overall economic situation, we are very satisfied with the current situation,” says Petra Hanke, managing director of ZELLCHEMING Service GmbH. “We are also expecting an increase in the number of visitors - for example, the association is paying for the Expo ticket for its members in this anniversary year, so they can enjoy the trade fair and the congress free of charge!”
The program has also been finalized. It will begin with the theme of our time: “Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the Pulp and Paper Industry - Future Opportunities and Challenges!” Dr.-Ing. Frank Meltzer, director of Technical Sales & Marketing, Mercer Pulp Sales and vice chairman of the ZELLCHEMING Association (due to be elected as the new Chairman on July 2nd), will moderate the discussion panel together with Prof. Dr. Helga Zollner-Croll, professor for Biogenic Fibers and vice dean of the Munich University of Applied Sciences, who has headed the ZELLCHEMING Association for almost two years.
“Many people appreciate the ability of AI to take over repetitive tasks, whether at work or in everyday life. AI helps companies analyze large amounts of data and gain valuable insights that enable informed business decisions. This comes with the need to consider ethical, privacy and security issues. Our panel will discuss this balance between the joy of innovation and responsible action,” said Meltzer.
Representatives of the European Commission and the IPAI (Platform for Applied Artificial Intelligence in Europe, based in Heilbronn) are expected on stage, as well as board members and division heads of three paper manufacturers.
The ZELLCHEMING Celebration Gala under the motto “Shaping the future together” will be the crowning event of the 195th anniversary celebrations. The RMCC’s Terrassensaal will provide a fitting, elegant setting for this unique event, which will pay tribute to the vitality, creative power and cosmopolitanism of the association, its members and this unique industry: leading personalities will host the evening, highlighting the milestones in the association’s development with an individual touch - and at the end, young paper engineers will join the new chairman in presenting a cross-generational idea for the association’s path in the coming years!
“In addition to high-caliber presentations by ZELLCHEMING’s technical committees with a focus on sustainability, practice-oriented workshops will provide in-depth insights into important future topics of our industry. We are particularly pleased that the well-established Career Day on Thursday will again give young talents the opportunity to make valuable contacts and explore their career prospects in the paper and pulp industry,” says Helga Zollner-Croll. “This year more than ever, it’s worth coming to the ZELLCHEMING-Expo - nobody should miss this very special anniversary event!”
This content was sponsored by ZELLCHEMING.
