Differentiation in pulp and paper business

摘要

Pulp is not a commodity product. Each pulp has specific characteristics created by fiber morphology retained from the wood raw material. The increase in the amount of pulp wood species used in market pulp production has expanded the pulp fiber palette significantly. Today there are 40-50 different market pulps, which represent significantly different fiber morphologies. Through the optimal use of the fiber morphology obtained from various globally available pulps, papermakers are able to significantly affect their cost, quality, and productivity. In addition, through the significant effect fiber has on the cost and quality of the paper products, the global fiber palette concept can also serve as an efficient tool for product differentiation in the market pulp business. An understanding of the quality and cost effects of their pulps on the whole papermaking value chain can give pulp producers the opportunity to target various customer segments in which their fiber provides the best benefits, and ultimately use the full differentiation potential: "to persuade people to consume a product without having to lower its price."