Asia Symbol (Shandong) Pulp and Paper Co., Ltd., has invested heavily in research and development, and the company’s efforts have paid off in significant ways. In addition to fulfilling goals for environmental sustainability articulated by CEO Sukanto Tanoto, Asia Symbol and Mr. Tanoto’s other companies in the $15 billion RGE Group have pioneered technologies with the potential to streamline procedures and cut costs.
In January 2015, a meeting of leading pulp and paper industry experts in China accredited a total of eight Asia Symbol innovations. The panel agreed that three of the company’s emergent technologies deserved accreditation as having reached leading international standards, and that the other five had reached an advanced international standard.
Asia Symbol is currently among the top international producers of pulp and paper. Its mill in Rizhao, Shandong Province, is home to one of the largest single-pulp production lines in the world, and it has received a number of awards acknowledging its high standards in recycling, environmental protection, and social responsibility.
The Rizhao Municipal Bureau of Science and Technology organized the accreditation meeting in cooperation with the Rizhao Economic and Technological Development Area’s office for science and technology. Also attending were research and development experts from the Nanjing Forestry University, the National Paper Quality Supervision and Inspection Center, the China Paper Association, and the China National Pulp & Paper Research Institute. The industry representatives visited the Asia Symbol plant and conducted detailed examinations of the company’s products.
The Asia Symbol technologies that received accreditation currently serve as examples to other producers within its industry. One innovation, which is new to Chinese manufacturing, allows the company to recycle and reuse some 40,000 cubic meters of industrial wastewater each day. Another technology reduces nitrogen oxide emissions, and another substitutes methanol for diesel in powering a gas incinerator, thereby lowering pollution emissions.