Are signs of economic recovery starting to show in the paper industry and manufacturing as a whole?
If you had asked me this question last year, I definitely would have said yes. What has happened recently is that there are signs that things have stalled and may even be going into reverse, particularly in areas of newsprint and office and speciality papers.
If you look at the share prices of some of the leading players on the European stock markets, they have started to fall back a bit.
There are clear signs now that we are getting to a situation where, on a European basis, there is spare capacity starting to appear. This is always a bit of a worrying sign.
Can the paper industry play an important role in an eventual economic recovery?
If you look at it in theory from a UK perspective, we only produce about half of the paper that we need in the UK. The potential is there for any inward investor, because the market is there.
Over recent years, the trend has been in the opposite direction. Paper mills have been closing at a rapid rate. As a result, we are becoming more and more dependent on imports.
There is certainly potential in the marketplace in the UK for further inward investment. We have had some good news in that Palm Paper has built a new plant at Kings Lynn and a Spanish company called Saica is building a new mill near Manchester.
We do have some positive news, but there is huge potential for further inward investment, if we can get the conditions right.
From the point of view of the paper industry, has the government effectively managed the recession? What additional economic policies would you like to have seen implemented?
The government appears to have done everything that it needs to do in terms of placating the markets. There does seem to be a fair amount of confidence out there that, in terms of reducing levels of public expenditure, the government has got it about right.
There are, however, questions being asked as to whether there is the right strategy in place to encourage growth within the economy. The government still has some way to go on that.
We await with interest, the autumn statement which the chancellor will announce in October. This will be about what other measures he is likely to use to encourage growth within the UK economy.
Economic growth appears to be stalling and there is certainly the opportunity for the government to do more.
The Confederation of Paper Industries is a member of the Dods UK Manufacturing Dialogue. What steps has the CPI, as part of the Dialogue, taken to promote the importance of manufacturing to the UK economy?
If you look at the composition of the Dialogue sponsors, CPI is the only organisation which represents an energy-intensive sector. We have managed to get the issues around energy-intensive production in the UK raised.
This is on the agenda and is one of the five key areas where concentration is to be focused.
What does the remainder of 2011 hold for the Confederation?
We are likely to be exceptionally busy with the sheer volume of issues that we are likely to be dealing with, principally the emissions trading scheme and the future of climate-change agreements.
We know we have a Water Bill coming up later in the year and, of course, the paper industry uses a lot of water.
There are also waste strategies being developed for Scotland, Wales, England and Northern Ireland, so it will be an exceptionally busy time.