Dr. Anthony (Tony) Binotto
Hall of Fame Inductee 1997
back to Hall
of Fame
The Irving Paper mill in Saint John, N.B., has earned an international
reputation for leadership in the application of information technology
in the forestry industry, and much of the credit goes to Tony Binotto.
Binotto surprised J. D. Irving in the summer of 1994 by applying to
become manager of the mill, a job no one else wanted. The mill was inefficient,
unprofitable and a sinkhole for capital investment. After four years
of downsizing and reorganization, employees were demoralized. They lacked
knowledge of the business direction and were unwilling to take action
to solve daily problems. Their contracts restricted the type of work
that each employee could do.
Binotto, a native of Philadelphia who holds a Ph.D in pulp and paper
technology from the Institute of Paper Chemistry at Georgia Tech University,
brought a fresh approach to what had been a top-down, uncommunicative
management style. "When I introduced myself I said I had no master plan
but I promised that we were going to work together to solve the problems,"
he recalls. "I worked with the management team and all the employees
to develop and implement a strategy. So it's not a one-man show, it's
a team effort."
Communication barriers came down, management ranks were flattened
and Binotto led negotiation of a revolutionary labour contract that
gave operating and maintenance employees flexibility in the work they
could do. The heart of the improvement plan was to use information technology
to provide real-time, unrestricted data to anyone who wants it on any
part of the mill process. This information sharing encouraged employees
to take action in solving problems before quality and production were
imperiled.
"As a group we educated the employees on how to run a business," Binotto
says. "Every quarter, I personally meet with all 385 employees in small
groups and explain in detail how the business is running. Once a year,
around Christmas time, I meet the entire families plus the retirees
and put on a show. They can bring their grandchildren."
Irving Paper has seen its productivity increase by 17 per cent since
1994, with minimal capital investment. The mill, which previously functioned
in the bottom quartile of the Canadian paper industry, now operates
near the top. The company's innovative technologies have led to world
production records at the mill, which now produces 350,000 metric tons
of paper a year using a new type of thermo-mechanical pulping process.
Word about Irving Paper's success has spread. The mill is now being
used as a model for other Irving companies. Its methods are being studied
by other mills, too, in Canada and abroad.
Binotto says, "I travel throughout the world and people see the logo
on my jacket and recognize Irving as a world leader in production."
|