Mill announces cutbacks

Twitter
Facebook

 Email This Post
Reddit
Digg

Tell us what you think!
Send a letter to the editor about this or any other article in The Maine Campus.

Denise Farwell

During the weeks of March 3 and 24, the Georgia Pacific Mill in Old Town will shut down one of the tissue machines, leaving workers with 2 weeks off without pay.

The Georgia Pacific paper mill in Old Town is making temporary cutbacks due to an inventory surplus and market conditions.

According to Mill Controller Rick Douglas, the No. 2 tissue machine and the converting department will be closed down one day a week for seven weeks, as of Feb. 17.

The converting department manufactures wood pulp into giant spools, which in turn are processed by one of the mill’s two tissue machines into various paper goods.

One machine being shut down produces mainly bath tissue, while the other makes primarily paper towel. Douglas says 10 percent of the mill’s employees, about 60 people, will be asked to take either a paid vacation or, if they prefer to save their vacation, an unpaid leave of absence.

Georgia Pacific spokesman Robert Burns attributes the production curtailments to the current economy and heavy competition in the tissue goods market.

“A sluggish economy makes for sluggish orders,” Burns said. “Our inventories have continued to build and at this time, we need to balance our inventories with market needs.”

“Our warehouse is full,” Douglas said, also citing high natural gas and oil costs as a setback for the mill this year. “Energy costs are a huge problem for us right now. We’re burning much, much more than we usually do,” Douglas said.

Burns said other Georgia Pacific mills are having similar experiences around the United States.

“This production curtailment is in no way a reflection on the employees at the Old Town mill. We appreciate their dedication, but Georgia Pacific must focus on business strategies for the good of all of our employees, customers and shareholders,” Burns said. However, according to Burns, there are no plans to make the cutbacks permanent.

“Employee scheduling will continue to be reviewed weekly. Our goal is to return all employees to work as soon as possible,” Burns said.

There has been a mill at the Old Town site for more than 120 years and since 1970 various companies have produced tissue goods there. The Old Town Mill employs 600 people and produces products such as Quilted Northern bath tissue, Brawny paper towels and Vanity Fair napkins.

This entry was posted on Monday, March 3rd, 2003, 12:00 am. You can follow any responses to this article through the RSS feed.