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December 8, 2014

Old Town mill to reopen after judge OKs sale

The Old Town paper mill is set to reopen and restore about 200 jobs after a federal bankruptcy judge on Friday approved its sale to Kaukauna, Wisc.-based Expera Specialty Solutions.

The Bangor Daily News reported that the $10.5 million sale, which closed shortly after it was approved, means that about 200 jobs will be fully restored by Jan. 5. A spokesman for the United Steelworkers union said Expera did not request any wage concessions and that benefit levels will remain the same.

“I’m excited to welcome the Old Town employees back to work and to the Expera family,” Russ Wanke, Expera’s CEO, said in a press release. “Expera is a financially strong enterprise with an excellent platform positioned for expansion and growth.”

“Under Expera, Old Town will have significant top-line stability and will benefit from our commitment to continuous improvement and manufacturing excellence,” he continued. “Old Town provides Expera with added internal capabilities, allowing us to deliver to our customers more product innovation and even better service.”

Among items in the sale agreement, Expera will pay $3.2 million in various debts, another $7.3 million to be split among secured and unsecured creditors, an additional $1.1 million for overdue property taxes and a separate $817,000 for employee paid time-off and vacation time claims.

Expera, which runs four specialty paper mills in Wisconsin, makes microwave popcorn bags, wine labels and other specialty paper products. The company was formed by New York-based investment firm KPS Capital Partners last year.

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