One mark of a competitive job candidate is their level of preparedness for the field they are entering. The Center for Supply Chain Research®️ (CSCR®️) offers a strategic opportunity to prepare students for professional settings after graduation through structured student research projects. Students who participate in research engagement projects have the chance to work directly with the center’s corporate sponsors to tackle real-world challenges and conduct relevant research.
Ben Krantwiess, a third-year supply chain and information management systems student, recently visited a paper mill as part of one such project. The American Eagle Paper Mills plant makes paper entirely from recycled paper. During the process of making the new paper, lime is created as a byproduct and the disposal of the lime carries a large price tag for the paper mill.
American Eagle Paper Mills
To mitigate these costs, an alternative arose to provide the lime to local farmers as a suitable replacement for what they put on their land. Giving it to farmers would reduce overall disposal expenditures and leave only the cost of transportation of the lime on the part of either the farmer or the paper mill. Thus far, the research on this lime mud shows even better outcome for a farmers’ yield than the lime they would have purchased straight from a lime manufacturer.
Krantwiess visited the plant along with Lauren Bechtel, program director for CSCR, and Ilona Ballreich, program manager for the Penn State Sustainable Communities Collaborative, to get a better understanding of the entire process.
“Taking on this project has given me first-hand experience working with business stakeholders in a real-world setting. Through this experience I have been able to thoroughly develop my research and project management skills,” said Krantwiess.
“The Center for Supply Chain Research, specifically Lauren Bechtel, has supported me every step of the way providing me fantastic opportunities to learn and grow. In addition, touring the paper manufacturing site helped me develop a deeper understanding of the project specifications and see directly how the manufacturing process produces the lime byproduct.”
Pictured L-R: Ben Krantwiess, Lauren Bechtel, Colin Symons – Fiber & Furnish Manager at American Eagle Paper Mills
The site visit provided fodder for Krantwiess’s project, enabling him to conduct a cost/benefit analysis of giving the byproduct to the farmers versus disposing of it. Additionally, the project achieves a sustainability metric due to the innovative reuse of the byproduct. Krantwiess and his advisors seek to explore what other uses the lime may have and ways to capitalize on the byproduct.
“Waste is often an unavoidable result of manufacturing,” said Bechtel. “However, Ben’s research is proving that by modifying a company’s practice of waste disposal to processes of waste reduction, a huge impact can be made – not only for the environment, but also for a company’s bottom line.”
The project will wrap up in spring of 2022, culminating in a finalized paper containing an in-depth analysis incorporating data gathered and process inspections. Like all CSCR student research engagement projects, the supporting corporate sponsors have immediate access to this timely and valuable research.
Krantwiess is interested in sustainable supply chain consulting and plans to graduate in spring of 2023.