Technological development and economic growth

The technological developments during this period were brought about by a number of factors, perhaps the most important being the numerous opportunities for innovation which arose when new capacity was being installed to keep up with the expanding local markets. New products were introduced to compete with imports, but these were generally based on local adaptations of established overseas technology rather than on original concepts. All companies strove to make improvements in their established products through better process and quality control, marginal changes in product design and progressive reduction in the weight per unit area (grammage).

APPM established a paper coating plant at Ballarat, Vic. in 1951 and in 1970, a new pulp and paper mill to make coated and uncoated magazine papers at Wesley Vale, Tasmania, while high grade coated cartonboard production was introduced by APM at Petrie, Qld. in 1963. APM introduced tissue manufacture from imported pulp at its Botany, NSW mill in 1954 and then sought ways of making a suitable pulp from South Australian pine plantation thinnings. Through research it was able to establish conditions under which this could be done economically using the sodium bisulphite pulping process, which at that time was believed to be unsuitable for pines. In 1960 APM and Cellulose Australia Ltd. jointly established the Apcel pulp and paper mill at Millicent to produce both tissues and towelling from pine bisulphite pulp and this became, in 1963, part of Kimberly-Clark Australia Pty. Ltd. (KCA) (50 per cent APM; 50 per cent Kimberly-Clark Corporation, USA). Also in 1960 Bowater-Scott Ltd. (50 per cent Bowater Paper Co., UK; 50 per cent Scott Paper Co., USA) commissioned a tissue and towelling mill based on imported pulp at Box Hill, Vic. to supply their existing tissue and towelling conversion operation. In 1973 Australian Forest Industries was established at Myrtleford, Vic. by Bowater-Scott as an integrated radiata pine sawmilling and refiner mechanical pulp operation to supply part of its pulp needs.

It was in the process rather than product area, however, that most new technology was generated in the 1950s and 60s, although here again often as an adaptation or further development of some established method originating overseas. APPM developed a successful two-stage soda batch pulping process in the late 1940s to reduce alkali requirements[91] and when, a few years later, a new type of continuous digester was introduced in Sweden for single stage alkaline pulping APPM, realizing its intrinsic advantages over batch pulping and its potential for two-stage operation, ordered one of the very first units, modified for its own requirements. APPM then developed the system further, by converting it to countercurrent pulping (with the pulping liquor moving upward through the downward moving wood chips) and adding a final stage of in-digester pulp washing. Overall this innovation was most successful and resulted in alkali savings, improved heat economy, reduced bleaching chemical requirement and alleviation of the earlier black liquor evaporation and burning problems.[92] APPM licensed its new technology overseas where its in-digester pulp washing principle has now become standard for most continuous digesters.

Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering