Why Join?
As a member of RPTA, you gain access to a worldwide network of peers and a non-profit association that provides education and joint effort toward common goals in the recycled paperboard industry. Companies are members of RPTA. Individuals in those companies are afforded membership by virtue of their company's membership.
Membership Benefits
Through the member network and staff and volunteer work, membership in RPTA is valuable to companies and their employees. Here are the many ways RPTA members benefit:
PRODUCTS
Educational and Technical Documents — RPTA has produced a variety of bulletins and manuals covering a broad range of topics from boilouts to metal in board. These publications are used for educating customers and/or for teaching aids for new hires or those new to the industry.
Meetings and seminars — RPTA holds various seminars, roundtable discussions, and webinars designed to keep membership informed of new or improved operating practices, new technology or products from vendors or to address problem solving issues common to most properties like safety, threading practices, furnish, stock cleaning, etc.
Task Force Meetings — RPTA sets up and facilitates meetings where focused groups by discipline meet regularly to discuss new or developmental products, processes, or technology and to discuss issues common to the membership.
Benchmarking Studies — RPTA collects and reports on various industry statistics for use by member companies. Some of the current benchmarking studies include physical properties, machine efficiency, boiler efficiency, and energy use.
Comprehensive Program —RPTA has developed and maintains the proprietary Comprehensive Program for Food-Contact Paperboard Produced From Recycled Fiber. This is an industry document, recognized worldwide, that undergoes updates frequently to assure customers that recycled board is appropriate for food-contact packaging. A company must be a member of RPTA to use the Comprehensive Program.
Historical Documentations — Because RPTA, established in 1953 as BRDA and renamed RPTA in 1991, represents a substantial amount of history in the recycled fiber based paper making business segment, a substantial and documented history is available for a variety of subjects. This archived knowledge is available to members.
SERVICES
Project Studies — RPTA can assist a team of volunteers to work on specific short-term topics such as equipment evaluations, process evaluations and other topics.
Research — Staff members can pursue ideas independently and report on those efforts that may benefit the membership. Some projects may be investigatory while others require academic involvement, laboratory tests, beta trials, and eventually vendor and mill involvement.
Problem Solving — RPTA can assist in problem solving papermaking related issues. The Association represents a network of companies and subject matter experts. RPTA can act as the conduit to get members the information they need.
Read more about our membership criteria.
LATEST NEWS
Industry Benchmarking Survey
The 2025 Profile Study will be initiated this December for first-quarter ’25 sampling. Past Survey reports can be accessed at this member-only page.
2024 Fall Roundtable
On October 16 and 17, we held our highly-rated RPTA Fall Roundtable on Paper Machine Roll Design and Operation, in Appleton, Wisconsin. The slides from our four-hour technical seminar on various types of rolls and press optimization are available at this RPTA members only site, along with materials from other past RPTA educational events. The Roundtable also included tours of two Andritz roll facilities.
UPCOMING EVENTS
2025 Winter Webinar
On January 22nd, we will hold a webinar on Recovered Fiber Grades & Quality. Shawn State, President of Pratt Recycling at Pratt Industries, will discuss recovered fiber grades and quality trends. He will be followed by Pat McEnroe, Product Group Director at Kadant Black Clawson, who will discuss process strategies to deal with contaminants in recovered fiber sources.
2025 Production-Technical Seminar
The event is May 4-7, 2025, at the Minneapolis Convention Center.
This year, the RPTA Seminar will be more integrated with the TAPPICon Conference. RPTA members will register through RPTA and your registration will include all TAPPICon sessions and events, at a substantial savings over past years’ registration fees.
RPTA will still recruit presentations on topics of current interest to our members: Safer Operations, Product Strength Improvement Methods; and Waste Reduction. In addition, RPTA will host a two-hour mini-course on paper machine wet end chemistry, provided by a well-respected expert.