Name Dr Jon Ryder
Company Oji Fibre Solutions
Position CEO
HQ Auckland, New Zealand
Employees 1,700EXECUTIVE INTERVIEWPackaging
potential
The demand for print media might be declining but that
certainly doesn’t mean it’s the end of an era for
a company like Oji Fibre Solutions.IMAGES TANIA NIWA“L
ike every other industry, pulp, paper and packaging is
competitive,” says Dr Jon Ryder, CEO of Oji Fibre Solutions.
“Paper in particular, with the advent of digital gadgets such as
iPads and smartphones, has significantly changed. I call it the
‘digital compression’ because less and less printing, writing and
communication papers are being used today compared to a decade ago. Due to
this, many people look at our industry — manufacturing pulp from wood and
then turning it into paper products — and think of it as being under threat.
However, it is absolutely the converse; the demand for our products is actually
growing in the pulp world. In fact, the industry is growing by about 1.5 per cent
per annum.”Jon explains that this positive trajectory is mainly being spurred by the
increasing demand for other products in the sector, namely tissue paper,
as well as other packaging materials. “More people are using the internet and
making purchases online; however, the products they are buying probably
don’t originate from their home country,” Jon says. “Therefore, the product has
to get to the purchaser and it has to get to them in a good, workable condition.
For this to happen it needs appropriate packaging.”