Mercer Rosenthal was the first company in Germany to purchase an online training program built by the Finnish group Valmet. Valmet manufactures various equipment for the pulp, paper, and energy industries; based on this knowledge, Valmet has developed a training program that provides necessary knowledge about the equipment of a pulp mill.
At Mercer Rosenthal, the decision was made to purchase the program for at least 3 years in order to increase the technical knowledge of the plant personnel around the existing state-of-the-art equipment. Furthermore, new employees can use the program to quickly build up the required knowledge to understand the processes within the plant more easily. Existing employees from other areas can also use the program to expand and solidify their learning.
As mentioned earlier, Mercer Rosenthal is the first company in Germany to use the program to train its employees. Therefore, the entire software has been translated into German for this purpose. The program consists of 14 different modules, which can be assigned to users on an individual basis. In a module, basic knowledge about the entire process and essential plant components can be acquired.
Modules vary between ones focusing on the entire process and ones more focused to provide in-depth knowledge about individual sub-areas, such as cooking or drying of the pulp. Furthermore, the platform offers the possibility to add plant-specific training content. At the end of each module, the acquired knowledge is checked by various tests. After the successful completion of a module, each participant receives a personal certificate.
Since training is offered through a web portal, employees can be as flexible as needed in processing the training content. Modules can also be completed on any PC within the company, as well as at home on all private devices. In addition, the training can be integrated into prospective paper technologists’ education plans.
By introducing this training offer, Rosenthal wants to slow down the migration of knowledge due to the transition from older-to-younger generations. This training creates a space for employees in which they can expand their specialist knowledge and inform themselves about the latest state-of-the-art developments in the pulp industry.