Post by Logan on Jul 4, 2016 4:33:48 GMT -6
Maine paper mills look for a niche as they fight to stay open
A global decline in demand for the kind of paper that has been the mainstay of the industry in Maine has prompted several mills to reposition themselves for new product lines – and, hopefully, a brighter future.
Three Maine mills have recently announced that they are converting machinery that once produced reams of glossy, coated paper used primarily in magazines and catalogs, to start making specialty papers, such as labels, filters and packaging. The shift is part of a scramble to diversify product lines – publishing papers represent 65 percent of the output of Maine mills – and to capture a greater share of new markets. At stake are 3,300 jobs in the state’s remaining six mills, survivors in a contracting industry that has shorn 2,300 jobs in the past five years as five mills closed.
Twin Rivers Paper Co. said last month that it will reconfigure one of its paper machines at the company’s Madawaska mill to produce specialty paper that’s used primarily for packaging and labels, a spokesman said. At the same time, the company will shut down an older machine that produces coated and uncoated paper that’s often used in publishing, said Dave Deger, a spokesman for Twin Rivers, which also has a pulp mill and a lumber mill, both in Canada.
The company will lay off 49 workers as a result of shutting down the older machine, Deger said, but the timing of the layoffs is uncertain. The Madawaska mill has about 500 employees, he said.
Read more: www.pressherald.com/2016/07/04/for-maine-mills-a-new-paper-chase-is-off-and-running/
A global decline in demand for the kind of paper that has been the mainstay of the industry in Maine has prompted several mills to reposition themselves for new product lines – and, hopefully, a brighter future.
Three Maine mills have recently announced that they are converting machinery that once produced reams of glossy, coated paper used primarily in magazines and catalogs, to start making specialty papers, such as labels, filters and packaging. The shift is part of a scramble to diversify product lines – publishing papers represent 65 percent of the output of Maine mills – and to capture a greater share of new markets. At stake are 3,300 jobs in the state’s remaining six mills, survivors in a contracting industry that has shorn 2,300 jobs in the past five years as five mills closed.
Twin Rivers Paper Co. said last month that it will reconfigure one of its paper machines at the company’s Madawaska mill to produce specialty paper that’s used primarily for packaging and labels, a spokesman said. At the same time, the company will shut down an older machine that produces coated and uncoated paper that’s often used in publishing, said Dave Deger, a spokesman for Twin Rivers, which also has a pulp mill and a lumber mill, both in Canada.
The company will lay off 49 workers as a result of shutting down the older machine, Deger said, but the timing of the layoffs is uncertain. The Madawaska mill has about 500 employees, he said.
Read more: www.pressherald.com/2016/07/04/for-maine-mills-a-new-paper-chase-is-off-and-running/