Louise Van Tiel, a plant engineer from Oji Fibre Solutions Kinleith wins the NZ Section New Speaker Competition
Photo: from left Chris Neville-Lamb, Louise Van Tiel and Louis Coetzee

Sixty members came along to support the speakers in the 2020 NZ Section New Speaker Competition held on the 17th September at the Distinction Hotel Rotorua. This was the first live NZ meeting since Covid. This competition is always a highlight of the NZ annual programme, and it was again a very successful evening with three strong presentations. It is always a pleasure to hear the well prepared and interesting presentations by the competitors.

The 2020 winner was Louise Van Tiel, a plant engineer from Oji Fibre Solutions Kinleith. Louise’s presentation was “Kinleith Mill Liquid Chlorine Filling Bay Improvements”. As the NZ Winner, Louise received a trophy, and an educational grant of $1500 for career development in the pulp & paper industry. She will represent NZ in the New Zealand vs Australia Appita New Speaker Competition Final being held virtually at the YPN Conference on 1 - 2 December.

The runners-up each received $200 cash. Chris Neville-Lamb, a graduate process engineer from Oji Fibre Solutions Tasman presented on “Crude Tall Oil Yield Improvement“, and Louis Coetzee, a graduate mechanical engineer from Oji Fibre Solutions Tasman spoke on “Transitioning Out of Major Hazard Facility Classification”.

We are extremely grateful to our sponsors, so we can hold this excellent professional development opportunity for our members. Principal Sponsors were Valmet PTY Ltd and Wood Beca. Supporting Sponsors were Chemiplas NZ and Scion. The balance of the prize money was provided from NZ Section funds. Kim McGrouther, Scion; Paul Robilliard, Wood Beca; and Scott Cole, Valmet PTY Ltd were the judges on the night.