This week, the global forest products industry gathers in Columbus, Ohio for TAPPICon 2026. The theme — “Uniting the Industry. Powering the Future.” — resonates with what we work towards every day: challenging how things have always been done and finding better ways forward.
One area overdue for that challenge? Fouling.
An Industry-Wide Problem
Across pulp and paper mills worldwide, fouling and scaling in process equipment is accepted as a fact of life. Deposits build up, efficiency drops, and maintenance teams respond with shutdowns, chemicals, and manual cleaning. It works. But it keeps mills locked in a reactive cycle that costs energy, time, and money every year.
The industry has optimized almost everything else. Fouling management is one of the few areas where the standard approach hasn’t fundamentally changed in decades.
A Different Way Forward
At Altum, we’ve spent years working with pulp and paper mills to flip this dynamic.
Altum’s power ultrasound technology prevents fouling from forming in the first place, installed externally on equipment, running while production runs, without chemicals and without shutdowns. Less energy consumed, fewer chemicals used, and more stable processes. No disruption.
This is what “powering the future” looks like in practice: not just cleaner energy, but cleaner, more efficient processes across the entire mill.
See You in Columbus
TAPPICon is where real conversations happen with people who are genuinely trying to move the industry forward. We’re glad to be part of that, not just as an exhibitor but as active contributors to the technical program.
Find us at Booth 412, April 26–29
We’re also involved in the program this year:
- Tuesday, April 28, 10:00–11:30 — Session: Infrastructure Corrosion and Preservation (session chair)
- Tuesday, April 28, 12:30–13:30 — Plant Engineering & Project Management Committee Meeting (committee chair)
Come find us at the booth or catch us at the sessions. We’d love to talk about what fouling prevention could look like in your mill. Contact us.
