President’s Message from Leonard Zeid

The past two years under the leadership of PSI Chapter President Myles Cohen were very active and very productive for our Chapter, ISRI and for our Industry. PSI established during his tenure work that include several paper summits, which led to the updating and integration of the paper stock specifications, creation of the MRF Council and Inbound MRF Specifications, and successful scholarship fundraising efforts. In the coming two years as the new PSI Chapter President, we will be building upon a great foundation of work that Myles, with the previous PSI Board and ISRI Paper Division accomplished.

The sea of change occurring in the paper recycling industry has many of us uncertain how our industry will look in the future. Policy changes that affect trade and international markets have created ripple effects felt in every home that benefits from our service. The coming two years are likely to bring a considerable number of challenges to our businesses and increased focus on quality.

I believe through the PSI board and our general membership’s range and depth of individual experiences and networks, and the resources each company brings with them, PSI  has the tools to confront these challenges with viable solutions. It will take active participation by our members and outreach to those in the industry that are not members, whether working on our committees or through participation in our events to solve these challenges.

This outreach will also include bringing best practices from across the country into the limelight by establishing strong coalitions with other organizations and partners of our industry.  I am proposing that we strengthen our  position as the voice of the recycling industry, by collaborating with other recycling organizations to increase the industry’s voice and to improve the business relationships we have with local governments . We must also strengthen our important message that we, the members of the Paper Stock Industries, as part of ISRI, deliver a quality product to the paper manufacturing businesses  both domestic and foreign, and provide an essential service to our communities. We are the voice of the recycling industry.

Best regards,
Leonard Zeid
2018-19 PSI Chapter President

Midland Davis Trading
8301 Maryland Ave, Suite 340
St. Louis, MO  63105
midlanddavis.com

#isri2018 New PSI president Leonard Zeid (c) and moderator of Spotlight on Paper with speakers Ketan Mamtora (l), VP of BMO Capital Markets and Greg Rudder (r), editor of RISI PPI Pulp & Paper Week.