Dr. Richard Berry honoured by award from the Society of Chemical Industry
Montreal, March 29, 2012 – CelluForce’s , Richard Berry PhD, a leader in the development of NanoCrystalline Cellulose (NCC) is honoured today with the 2012 Doug Purvis Memorial award by the Society of Chemical Industry at the SCI Canada Awards Dinner at the Hyatt Regency in Toronto.
Dr. Berry is recognized for his contribution in the industrial development of NanoCrystalline Cellulose, a recyclable, non-toxic and renewable material extracted from trees. ‘’It is an honour to receive this recognition for work that has been done by remarkable teams at FPInnovations, Domtar and now CelluForce’’, says Dr. Berry.While at FP Innovations, he developed significant pulping technology in the elimination of dioxins, high-temperature peroxide bleaching, aldehyde-enhanced bleaching and more recently neutral bleaching.
Dr. Berry’s initiatives in the past four years helped to convince industrial and Government stakeholders of the huge industrial potential of NCC and have allowed Canada to take NCC research in university and industry laboratories to industrial and commercial reality. This has positioned Quebec and Canada as world leaders in the development of this new nanotechnology and emerging industry.
He now has moved to CelluForce – the joint venture of Domtar Inc and FPInnovations, where he is working to ensure the technical and business success of the demonstration plant which has a capacity of 1 tonne per day.
The Purvis Memorial Awards honors Canadians in academia or an industry, based on chemisty, who have significantly strengthened their sector or an institution that industry relies upon. The chemical industry embraces traditional chemical companies focusing on chemical manufacture and distribution, but also industries such as coatings, crop protection, environmental services, food, pharmaceuticals, plastics, synthetic fibres and pulp and paper.
About Dr. Richard Berry
Leader of the nanotechnology initiative at FPInnovations since the very beginning, Dr. Berry has numerous scientific accomplishments and a long experience for overseeing the industrial application of his numerous inventions. He recently received the prestigious 2009 Nano-industry award from NanoQuébec for his contribution to the development of NanoCrystalline Cellulose. The initiatives Dr. Berry has spearheaded in recent years have allowed Canada to position itself as a world leader in the development of this new nanotechnology industry.
Dr. Berry has taught numerous courses for TAPPI, PAPTAC, and FP Innovations and chaired the 2000 International Pulp Bleaching Conference. He also holds thirteen patents and his work has been published in more than eighty articles and in two monographs. Dr. Berry received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Chemistry and Geology from Keele University in Staffordshire, England in 1975. In 1980 he earned a Ph.D. in Chemistry from McGill University in Montréal, Canada.
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The Forum will address the opportunity bioplastics represent in sustainability and environmental leadership for the chemical and materials industries, as well as the issues confronting the bioplastics value chain.
NCC is an advanced material derived from wood fibre that improves the strength, durability and toughness of products. It can reduce damage caused by wear, abrasion and light. This high-value nanomaterial can also be incorporated into systems to make light reflective structures (tunable from ultraviolet to infrared), impermeable to gas and stable over time. NCC can transform the performance of existing products as well as help create new, unique and improved products. Natural, renewable, recyclable, compostable and bio-degradable, NCC also has the potential to become a contributor to the green economy in numerous industrial sectors in the coming decades.
‘’We have developed proprietary technology to incorporate NCC as high-performance reinforcement in many polymeric systems, including poly(lactic acid), polyhydroxyalkanoates and polyolefins,’’ says Dr. Hamad. ‘’NCC allows us to develop high-performance and functional bio-based barrier and engineering materials with tunable properties.’’
The presentation will also explore other potential developments using NCC in organic and inorganic systems.
About CelluForce Inc.
CelluForce Inc. is the world leader in the commercial development of NanoCrystalline Cellulose (NCC). The company is a joint venture of Domtar Corporation and FPInnovations. CelluForce manufactures NCC in the world’s first demonstration plant of its kind, located in Windsor, Québec, develops new applications for NCC, markets and sells it. The company currently has a workforce of 30 employees and its head office is in Montreal. www.celluforce.com
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CelluForce is ramping up its production of NCC with a target of reaching a 1,000 kg (1 metric ton) per day production rate in 2012. Trials integrating NCC into the manufacturing process of different products are currently taking place through technical collaboration agreements between CelluForce and 15 companies based in Canada, the United States, Europe and Asia in four main industrial sectors: paints and coatings, films and barriers, textiles, and composites.
Plant construction extended over a 14-month period and was completed on time. The Canadian and Québec governments made a significant contribution to the financing of the $36 million plant with $23.2 million coming from Natural Resources Canada (Pulp and Paper Green Transformation Program and Transformative Technologies Program) and $10.2 million from Québec’s Natural Resources and Wildlife Department.
Grateful to all those who have contributed thus far to this exciting venture, Jean Moreau declared: “This is the stellar result of the winning combination of Domtar’s operational expertise with FPInnovations’ technical and scientific knowledge to develop an effective manufacturing process for NanoCrystalline Cellulose. Governments were receptive to our project, which was in line with their innovation and forestry industry strategies, while our enthusiastic employees were thrilled to participate in such a unique and innovative initiative. Today we celebrate a milestone that enables us to be the first in he world on the path to creating a significant market for NCC. There is an exciting future ahead for NCC and CelluForce.”
“Our investment in the CelluForce project is part of a larger story at Domtar around unlocking greater value from wood fiber,” added John D. Williams, Domtar President and Chief Executive Officer. “We are thrilled to be partners in this world-class venture that aligns so squarely with our business growth objective to become a global leader in fiber innovation.”
Pierre Lapointe, President and CEO of FPInnovations stated that “This is a significant milestone in Canadian innovation history. We have demonstrated that through investment in public-private partnerships, Canada is taking a leadership position in developing and deploying game changing innovations, such as NCC, to help the transformation of the forest industry and to create wealth for Canadians. We are very proud that this innovation developed by FPInnovations’ research team is now moving from the laboratories to the marketplace. This is a great day for FPInnovations’ staff and all our partners.”
NCC is an advanced material derived from wood fibre that improves the strength, durability and toughness of products. It can reduce damage caused by wear, abrasion and light. This high-value nanomaterial can also be incorporated into systems to make light reflective structures (tunable from ultraviolet to infrared), impermeable to gas and stable over time. NCC can transform the performance of existing products as well as help create new, unique and improved products. Natural, renewable, recyclable, compostable and bio-degradable, NCC also has the potential to become a contributor to the green economy in numerous industrial sectors in the coming decades.
NCC’s remarkable properties will lead to commercial applications largely exceeding those of traditional wood fibre products. CelluForce will, on a worldwide basis, market NanoCrystalline Cellulose for strength applications under the CelluForce Impact™ brand, and optical applications under the CelluForce Allure™ brand.
About CelluForce CelluForce is the world leader in the commercial development of NanoCrystalline Cellulose (NCC). The company is a joint venture of Domtar Corporation and FPInnovations. CelluForce manufactures NCC in the world’s first plant of its kind, located in Windsor, Québec, develops new applications for it, markets and sells it. The company currently has a workforce of 30 employees and its head office is in Montreal.
About FPInnovations
FPInnovations is a not-for-profit world leader that specializes in the creation of scientific solutions in support of the Canadian forest sector's global competitiveness and responds to the priority needs of its industrial and government members. It is ideally positioned to perform research, innovate and deliver state-of-the-art solutions for every area of the sector's value chain, from forestry operations to consumer and industrial products. FPInnovations' staff numbers more than 500. Its research laboratories are located in Québec City, Montréal, Thunder Bay, Edmonton and Vancouver, and it has technology transfer offices across Canada. For more information about FPInnovations, visit: www.fpinnovations.ca
About Domtar
Domtar Corporation (NYSE: UFS) (TSX: UFS) is the largest integrated manufacturer and marketer of uncoated freesheet paper in North America and the second largest in the world based on production capacity, and is also a manufacturer of papergrade, fluff and specialty pulp. The Company designs, manufactures, markets and distributes a wide range of business, commercial printing and publishing as well as converting and specialty papers including recognized brands such as Cougar®, Lynx® Opaque Ultra, Husky® Opaque Offset, First Choice® and Domtar EarthChoice® Office Paper, part of a family of environmentally and socially responsible papers. Domtar also produces a complete line of incontinence care products and distributes washcloths marketed primarily under the Attends® brand name. Domtar owns and operates ArivaTM, an extensive network of strategically located paper distribution facilities. The Company employs approximately 8,800 people. To learn more, visit www.domtar.com
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Recyclable and renewable, NanoCrystalline Cellulose (NCC) is an advanced material derived from wood fibre that improves strength, durability and toughness. This high-value nanomaterial is capable of transforming the performance of existing products and creating new, unique and improved products for numerous industrial sectors.
For the last eight weeks, CelluForce has been progressively starting up the equipment for the first ever large-scale production of NCC. The nanomaterial will be produced in state-of-the-art facilities located at Domtar’s pulp and paper plant in Windsor, Quebec. Construction extended over a fourteen-month period. It required a total investment of $36M including the financial participation of both the Federal and Québec governments. The company is particularly pleased to have completed construction phase on time.
CelluForce President and CEO Jean Moreau declared, “Wood pulp is being delivered to the plant to test the new equipment and we are making progress on a daily basis. NCC will start to be produced by the end of the year, with production gradually increasing until it reaches a steady rhythm of 1,000 kg per day in 2012”.
As Rene Goguen, vice-president, Manufacturing for CelluForce, explained, “The rapid advances made in testing stages bear testimony to the hard work, devotion and expertise of our employees. We are all proud to be participating in this project and very conscious of the fact that it is a world first. The 25 operations personnel of this youthful company, who were already experienced employees at Domtar, a partner in CelluForce, started work last June. They went through an intensive training session to ensure they were ready to start up the specialized equipment, most of which was custom-built specifically for the manufacture of NCC.
Commercial applications
Recyclable and renewable, NanoCrystalline Cellulose improves strength, durability and toughness, and can reduce damage caused by wear, abrasion and light. This nanomaterial can also be incorporated into systems to make structures that are light reflective (tunable from ultraviolet to infrared), impermeable to gas and stable over time. The remarkable properties of this advanced material derived from wood fibre will lead to commercial applications largely exceeding those of traditional wood fibre products. A high-value nanomaterial, NCC is capable of transforming the performance of existing products and creating new unique and improved products for numerous industrial sectors.
CelluForce will, on a worldwide basis, market NanoCrystalline Cellulose for strength applications under the CelluForce Impact™ brand, and for optical applications of NCC under the CelluForce Allure™ brand.
Trials integrating NanoCrystalline Cellulose into the manufacturing process of different products are currently taking place with a variety of potential partners and CelluForce should be in a position to announce the signing of its initial contracts shortly..
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Domtar and FPInnovations are pleased to announce CelluForce,the corporate identity chosen for their new joint venture, launched in July 2010. CelluForce will manufacture nanocrystalline cellulose, a recyclable and renewable nanomaterial, that will be commercialized throughout the world. The new company’s identity was developed to reflect both the origin of the nanomaterial, extracted from tree cellulose, and one of the multiple properties of the product to be sold by the new company. Jean Moreau, President and CEO of CelluForce, explained, “Our new brand reflects who we are, how we want to position ourselves in our target markets and the innovation that differentiates us
within our industry.
The name “CelluForce” reminds us that one of the main characteristics of the nanocrystalline cellulose is the great strength it provides to the materials to which it is added, but the name also represents the strength of our relationships with our shareholders, our partners and our customers, which is one of the company’s core values. It was essential that this feature be one of the key elements of our corporate identity.”
The company’s mission is “to harness the power of nature’s basic elements to transform the performance of its clients’ products.” The personality of the product itself encourages the development of
very strong partnerships with CelluForce customers, who will also be partners in the deployment of multiple specialized applications using nanocrystalline cellulose. The typeface of the CelluForce logo uses two colours, to clearly illustrate the fundamental value of the partnership between two entities in the company — partnership between the two
co-shareholders as well as with CelluForce employees and customers.
The name is topped with a “C” formed of numerous tetrahedrons, which combine the blue and green colours that symbolize each partner. The spray of tetrahedrons gives a sense of forward movement, like
the new technology’s leap into the future. The logo was designed to be easily animated on
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multimedia platforms. The company’s temporary website, www.celluforce.com, already displays
the brand’s new visual identity. Nanocrystalline cellulose will be produced in a large-scale commercial demonstration plant
using cutting-edge technology. The plant is currently under construction on the site of Domtar’s pulp and paper mill in Windsor, Québec. The construction of the demonstration plant is progressing quickly, and it should be operational in the first quarter of 2012. The plant’s
operations will be managed by a team of committed employees who have enthusiastically agreed to tackle the colossal challenge of getting a new plant up and running. For several weeks now, the management team has been preparing to welcome all the workers who are
set to undergo training in June. With regard to this major milestone, John D. Williams, President and CEO of Domtar, stated,
“Emerging from a strategic alliance between two leaders in their respective industries, CelluForce creates new partnerships to develop innovative technology in growing markets.
Domtar will bring its vast manufacturing experience to the table to produce a green nanomaterial that, like paper, comes from trees. We will therefore develop new applications for our market pulp.”
For his part, Pierre Lapointe, President and CEO of FPInnovations, stated, “Thanks to a revolutionary technological breakthrough developed by FPInnovations and an exceptional government-industry partnership, the CelluForce team will benefit from a nanomaterial of high quality, which is stable, abundant and unique in the world, namely nanocrystalline cellulose, or NCC. With the combined strengths of FPInnovations researchers and Domtar staff,
CelluForce will continue to develop new commercial applications and new market areas for NCC. The entire FPInnovations team is working to develop innovative and viable solutions to ensure the competitiveness and transformation of the Canadian forestry industry.”
