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AIM?RECLAIM?AND?CHINA:
This?is?Aim?Reclaim?in?a?nutshell.?It?all?started?in?1992?when?Dutchman?Thijs?Cox?visited?Beijing?for?a?short?holiday.?Not?with?the?intention?to?become?a?"waste?paper?trader".?Met?enthusiastically?by?the?export?manager?of?“KNP?BT?Paper?Recycling”?of?the?Netherlands,?Cox?was?selling?the?first?lots?of?carrier?board?in?bales?and?sending?a?fax?to?the?home?front?that?he?would?not?return?from?his?holiday?a?couple?of?weeks?later…
"It?was?a?sensational?time.?The?paper?prices?went?up,?especially?in?the?years?1994-95?and?the?most?interesting?contracts?were?signed.?A?customer?ordered?over?10,000?tons?of?rejected?coated?paper?in?rolls...?The?largest?stock?lot?ever?imported?to?that?time.?It?was?less?organized?in?every?aspect-?banking,?customs,?claims,?brokers,?and?legal?cases.?We?were?real?pioneers?and?we?learned?by?experience.?In?some?cases?there?was?no?real?quality?awareness,?not?on?the?side?of?the?supplier,?not?on?the?side?of?the?customers.?They?were?unique?but?tough?times.?While?drinking?a?bottle?of?Maotai?(Chinese?liquor)?you?could?solve?a?claim?and?even?sign?a?new?contract",?Cox?tells?an?Asian?paper?magazine.
At?that?time?there?was?a?shortage?of?everything?in?China.?No?good?office?buildings,?no?ways?of?optimal?communication,?insufficient?transportation?and?a?lack?of?foreign?currency.?It?was?a?challenge?to?get?even?the?easiest?things?done,?like?sending?a?fax?or?cashing?out?money?from?your?own?bank?account.?Cox?remembers?that?the?third?ring?road?in?Beijing?was?under?construction?and?that?it?took?a?few?hours?by?bus?to?get?to?the?office.?The?only?way?for?the?office?staff?to?be?on?time?was?if?they?slept?at?the?office?which?was?too?small?anyway.?So?some?of?them?did?it?for?over?half?a?year?using?waste?paper?sample?bags?as?pillows.?
Nowadays?cities?like?Beijing?and?Shanghai?are?modern?metropolises?with?skyscrapers?and?elevated?highways.?"It?is?a?big?accomplishment?for?the?Chinese?if?you?see?the?development?of?the?last?decade,"?adds?Cox.?
If?you?see?how?the?developments?have?influenced?the?paper?making?industry,?it's?like?a?century?compressed?in?a?decade.?Not?so?long?ago?we?met?a?customer?who?apparently?faced?some?problems?with?his?pulper?timer?and?de-inking?techniques.?He?welded?together?an?iron?"Gorilla?cage"?and?stuffed?it?with?waste?paper.?Then?he?closed?the?door?and?lowered?it?down?with?a?chain?in?the?basement?of?his?factory,?which?was?filled?with?water?and?chemicals.?After?a?while?the?paper?was?soaked?with?the?chemicals,?half?de-inked?and?ready?to?dissolve?in?his?mini-pulper.?After?he?pulled?the?cage?up,?he?took?a?shovel?and?put?the?paper?in?his?pulper,?which?was?not?much?bigger?than?a?western?toilet.?These?practices?have?now?been?forbidden?by?environmental?regulations?issued?by?the?central?government?and?enforced?by?local?officials.?Instead?large?state?of?the?art?paper?factories?have?been?constructed.?Now?in?China?you?can?find?a?machine?width?of?10?meters?and?world?records?in?paper?making?speed?are?broken.?
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