Collaborating to Revitalize the Brewton Mill
5 MIN
How the Brewton mill transformed from at-risk to one of the most efficient pulp and paper mills in the U.S.
Waymon Neal was raised to be contribution motivated. Growing up in the tiny town of Flomaton, Alabama, his family didn’t have much money, but they did have a strong work ethic and the desire to contribute – riches they passed on to their children.
“Back then, when you got old enough to work, you got a job,” recalled Waymon. “I worked at the local grocery store, cut grass, split firewood and did other odd jobs.” Waymon married shortly before graduating from high school. “We welcomed our first child in May of 1983. Six months later, I started at the mill. Been there ever since.”
Today, that paper mill in Brewton is owned by Georgia-Pacific. Waymon found his work there became more than just making ends meet. It provided purpose and meaningful relationships with seasoned mentors who showed him the ropes, pipes and gauges.
“I heard back in high school that if you help other people get what they want, you get what you want. That deeply affected my mentality,” he said. “Today, I help others by sharing my knowledge of mechanical processes and tasks, like how to track a pipe through the mill.” Those principles of sharing knowledge and partnership would play an essential role in the transformation of the mill itself.
In the early 2000s, before GP acquired the mill, Waymon became concerned about its condition. “Vital upgrades and capital investments in new equipment just weren’t being made,” he said. “I shared my concerns with co-workers, but they didn’t believe me. They thought the mill would be here forever.” Plagued by inefficiency, unreliability and frequent unplanned outages, the mill's future was far from certain.
In 2007, Georgia-Pacific acquired the Brewton mill for $350 million. GP knew it would require major improvements but believed it had significant long-term potential. After confirming this by making a number of smaller improvements, GP later initiated Project Phoenix, an ambitious $400 million modernization plan. The project included replacing Brewton’s 60-year-old recovery boiler and installing a new evaporator to improve energy and production efficiency. But to make the most of this new equipment and avoid unexpected problems and shutdowns, Brewton employees needed to change the way they worked together.
Trae Story, a chemical engineer, became an employee at the mill in 2018. Growing up, he excelled at mathematical problem solving, and later gravitated to process control and optimization work. He brought this skillset and a fresh perspective to Brewton.
Despite their differences in age, skills and responsibilities, Waymon and Trae found they worked well together. Both appreciated the insight and expertise of the other, recognizing they had complementary capabilities. “I didn’t have all the operations knowledge that Waymon did. Not even close. But I did have process control and programming skills that could make a difference,” said Trae.
Their first goal was to stabilize the large recovery boiler. Waymon helped Trae understand the quirks of the mill's processes from an operator's point of view. This deep personal knowledge gave Trae what he needed to program the automation. “Trae has the ability to see the ballpark you're in and figure out the best game plan,” said Waymon.
Process engineers and control room operators traditionally work in separate spaces. Initially, it was no different at Brewton. Trae’s office was located a floor above the central control room where Waymon and other operators worked. But as their collaboration flourished, Trae moved into the control room to work with the operators in real time.
“Having Trae in the same room empowered us to mitigate problems at a much faster rate,” said Waymon. “Every operator has an idea of how to eliminate the trouble they’re having. If Trae is sitting here listening to those ideas, and he knows what’s going on with the controls, we’re better able to find a solution.”
Trae and Waymon demonstrated that individuals with complementary skills can create much better outcomes than anyone working alone. In fact, a whole series of transformations were taking place throughout the mill, as the previous top-down culture evolved to one of collaboration. Employees, no matter their role, now felt they could speak up, share ideas and contribute across teams. As a result of this changing culture, Brewton no longer needed shift supervisors. Those responsibilities were redistributed according to the division of labor by comparative advantage.
“Nobody in this department would want to go back to the way that it was.”
One department introduced “job circles,” where work is shared so employees can move to areas where they are needed most. This concept was so successful that Brewton is working on deploying it across the whole mill. “Nobody in this department would want to go back to the way that it was,” said Waymon. “People are learning new things and being given the chance to more fully contribute.” Employees were sharing knowledge and adjusting their efforts to get better results – a hallmark of the republic of science principle.
As a result of all of this, the mill has experienced a dramatic decrease in operational issues. Unplanned outages from steam and power-generating assets have dropped from 38 in 2017 to just six last year. What’s more, optimization has enabled the mill to set a series of new production records, leading to increased financial returns. “As our knowledge, tools and relationships continue to improve,” said Trae, “so does the mill’s performance. That’s really motivating.”
“Our bottom-up approach is making the mill much better. There is still room for improvement, but we are breaking down old barriers and better incorporating operator feedback,” said Trae. “In 2018, I was just watching and learning and trying to stay out of the way. Now I’m the one the control room operators will call for help anytime.”
Brewton is now one of the most efficient pulp and paper mills in the United States and has been recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In 2021, Brewton became the first integrated paper mill to earn the EPA’s ENERGY STAR® certification for energy efficiency.
“The Brewton mill sure has come a long way from where it was a few years ago,” said Waymon. “Some of the ‘fires’ we had been fighting daily were put out for good, thanks to the collaboration between process control and operators. I’m proud of how we are setting an example for others and excited about the future.”
Video: Transforming Teamwork
Give it a Try
The power of these principles happens through application. There’s no substitute for learning as you apply.
- Suggest three ways you could work more closely with other teams to enhance collaborative problem-solving.
- Identify areas of your personal knowledge that would be beneficial to others and work with others to share that knowledge.
- What were the benefits of having complementary knowledge and skills in the Brewton mill?
- How can you better seek and share knowledge within your operation to close gaps?
- How are you contributing to a collaborative culture where everyone strives to improve results?