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The Georgia-Pacific Corp. has ceased all pulp and tissue manufacturing and related shipping at the Old Town mill, company representatives announced last Thursday.
The corporation will close the mill permanently if no one steps forward to purchase the facility, putting some 400 employees out of work.
The mill, which was sold in December to Koch Industries of Wichita, Kan. as part of a $21 million deal, will be kept in running shape for 60 days to allow for interested parties to visit and negotiate.
During this period, employees will continue to receive wages and benefits.
“I am confident we can sell this mill,” said Jack Cashman, Old Town economic and community development commissioner. “There are a number of business owners who see this facility as a real opportunity.”
Cashman and Gov. John Baldacci have been working on a proposal to reduce mill costs by $5 million per year in an effort to help maintain the mill’s commercial viability.
When Georgia-Pacific officials made their announcement, Baldacci pledged that both he and his administration would work with them to find a buyer.
There are currently seven potential buyers, the names of which have not yet been released.
The mill was previously threatened with closure in 2003, which led to the state’s purchase of the West Old Town Landfill, now Juniper Ridge, from Georgia-Pacific.
Money from the sale was used for a $29 million upgrade to the facility’s biomass boiler, considerably reducing its energy costs.
“The mill is in a much better position now than it was three years ago,” said Secretary of State and Old Town resident Matthew Dunlap, who represented the town in the Maine House of Representatives.
“When it was originally threatened with closure, teardown crews came in the same hour the announcement was made. It took a lot of scrambling and negotiations to save it then. Now, thanks to the recent upgrades, it’s a modern mill,” he said.
If no buyer is found for the mill, the results for Old Town could be disastrous.
The mill currently provides 34 percent of the town’s tax base. The mill paid $40,049 in taxes last year.
A significant ripple would also be sent through the local logging industry, affecting small logging companies and truck drivers in particular.
“If the mill does close, it would be very hard on the area,” said Dunlap. “Old Town has a long, rich manufacturing tradition. It would definitely have a long-term cultural effect, as well as affecting the town’s future makeup. This is a blue collar, working class town, with a proud demographic of skilled tradesmen. People will either do something else or go somewhere else.”
Among the students who heard about the mill, the reactions were varied.
“It’s nice to see them taking such good care of the workers,” said Joanne Bagley, a sixth-year food science major. “But I really do believe that it’s Baldacci’s fault. I think his only goal is to run this state into the ground.”
Other students have pointed to problems inherent to the industry.
Fourth-year English major Ethan Lavendier said, “It would be good for such an environmentally harmful practice to end, but I do feel bad for the workers who would lose their jobs. Old Town would, unfortunately, be impacted pretty badly.”
Bjorn Lake, a doctoral student in environmental engineering, said it is time for Maine to stop relying in the paper industry.
“I think it’s time Maine either shifts away from pulp and paper or places it under state control to avoid dependence on corporations.”
The mill has actively employed 160 employees since the shutdown process began, but that number is expected to be reduced to 90 by the end of the week.
Woodchip mills in Costigan, Milo, Portage and Houlton that supply materials to the Old Town mill were also closed the same day. The four locations employed a total of 30 people.
Bangor Daily News