The Final Word by Jim Thompson


Here in the United States, it seems like the topic of the hour is the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare.  While large companies, such as pulp and paper companies, have the headquarters staff and resources to deal with this, many small companies do not.  One might think any ramifications of Obamacare will therefore not affect pulp and paper companies.  However, each mill deals with hundreds of small vendors, the ones without the resources to deal with this new paperwork burden.  It is highly unlikely the departure of a few of these smaller companies (many may just close) will affect the production at any one mill, yet it is not unreasonable to expect the mill purchasing staff will be doing some scrambling to replace small vendors for a while.  Since various parts of Obamacare will phase in over the next year or two, this unanticipated turmoil may last for 18 months or so.