Paging through a lifetime
Miel Couvee is papermaking royalty. If you give him a sheet of paper, he can tell you the type of stock and the precise weight purely by the feel of it in his hand.
It’s the type of knowledge that takes decades to develop. In Miel’s case, the journey began in 1955, when he was 15 and took an apprenticeship at KNP Maastricht (KNP stands for Koninklijke Nederlandse Papierfabrieken, or the Royal Dutch Paper Factory). He had no inkling then that he was embarking on a career that would stretch over half a century; in fact, he almost quit during his first week, which fell during a hot spell in August. “Outside it was 30 degrees and in the factory it was even warmer,” he says. “The first thing I thought was, ‘I'll be out of here within a week, way too hot to work in’. But I lasted 50 years.”
Once he’d adjusted to the heat, Miel embarked on a demanding three-year training programme which saw him master every kind of task required by the historic papermill (KNP was founded in 1850). He learnt fabric preparation, cutting, sorting, finishing, packaging and de-inking. He learnt how the huge paper machines worked, producing everything from paper for Bibles to newsprint for newspapers. “Everything it is possible to learn within a factory, I did it,” he says. He even met his future wife on the factory floor, where she worked with a team of girls sorting paper.
The only time he was ever away from the mills was when he was called to do his military service in Suriname, where 90% of the country is covered by rainforest. “I practically lived in the forest of the Amazon,” he says. “There I experienced how important trees are for humans and animals and how you can’t live with them. Without trees, the earth withers and there is no quality of life.” This experience stayed with him when he returned home, deepening his respect for and gratitude towards trees for furnishing the raw materials for papermaking.
Made for life and recycling should not be a buzzword but a means to prevent pollution of our planet
Miel Couvee
Miel has seen many changes over the decades. “The paper machines in Maastricht were all powered by a motor that handled a series of transmission belts via a kind of variomatic speed system,” he says. “Gradually the machines became bigger and faster and the old ones were shut down. We got a new paper machine in Langenbrugge for making newsprint – it was 12m wide and had a max speed of 2,300m per minute. Gigantic mother rolls were produced with it.”
But the most dramatic change came with the advent of digital techniques, which caused a revolution in the manufacture of paper machines and finishing machines and required seismic adjustment in both processes and mindset. Attitudes to the environment have also changed beyond recognition, a development that delights Miel. “I hope that people will return from plastic packaging to cartons and boxes,” he says. “Made for Life and recycling should not be a buzzword but a means to prevent pollution of our planet.”
During his career, Miel was posted to a variety of locations within the Netherlands, and to the UK, US, Canada and Finland, to install new equipment and train staff in how to operate it. He was also the ideal person to instil a passion for papermaking in the next generation, passing on to young people the skills they needed to develop their own rewarding careers. To that end, he has also written two books and taught at a Dutch paper school.
Towards the end of his career Miel worked for Sappi, which bought KNP Maastricht in 2001. Although he retired officially in 2005, the company immediately asked him to come back as a consultant because no one else had the breadth of experience he had. Now in his mid-80s, and fully retired, Miel can barely walk down a Sappi hallway or get through a visit to the mill without being stopped multiple times for hugs and chats. This great affection and respect is a testament to his devotion and expertise, and to a career spent in humble service to the wonderful products that trees make possible for us all.
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