Courtesy / Robert Arsenault, Process Control Manager, Rumford & Old Town divisions
A large new sign was installed at the Old Town Mill earlier this year. The plan is to produce unbleached softwood kraft pulp.
August 14, 2019
Old Town Mill, acquired by ND Paper last year, will directly support 130 jobs
Courtesy / ND Paper
Earlier this year, ND Paper fired up a new boiler at the Old Town Mill. The boiler was the first piece of major operating equipment to run in the mill since its idling in October 2015.
By Staff
The reopening of the Old Town Mill is expected to support the regional economy and bolster Maine’s forest products industry.
The pulp mill officially reopened yesterday, in ceremonies that included a tour of the plant attended by U.S. Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Angus King, I-Maine, and U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, according to a news release.
ND Paper purchased the Old Town Mill in October 2018, following the company’s investments in the Rumford Paper Mill.
“By building on and updating one of Maine’s most historic manufacturing sites, ND Paper is investing in Maine’s forest economy and in our talented workforce,” Collins, King and Golden said in a joint statement, noting that the mill will support 130 local jobs.
“We will continue to work together with industry and community leaders to help revitalize our forest products industry for generations to come.”
Forest opportunity
Collins and King are supporters of revitalizing Maine’s forest economy and helped establish the Forest Opportunity Roadmap (FOR/Maine) Initiative, an industry-led initiative that is helping to diversify the state’s wood products businesses, attract investments and develop greater economic prosperity for rural communities impacted by mill closures.
The FOR/Maine Initiative was funded in part by the Economic Development Assessment Team, to create strategies for job growth and economic development in Maine’s rural communities. The team recommended the development of new markets for Maine’s forest resources, including the strengthening of existing forest products manufacturing, the attraction of investment in emerging technology, and the utilization of forest products residuals in CHP biomass plants, microgrids, modern thermal systems, and new forest products development.
Golden introduced the Future Loggers Careers Act in the House earlier this year, which King cosponsored in the Senate. The legislation would ready young Mainers for good jobs in the forest products industry, support family logging businesses and ensure operations like ND’s Old Town Mill have a reliable, consistent supply of quality Maine wood fiber.
Last October, ND Paper, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nine Dragons Paper (Holdings) Ltd. completed its acquisition of the Old Town kraft pulp mill from OTM Holdings LLC, a subsidiary of CVG Inc. Under the terms of the asset purchase agreement, ND Paper acquired the mill plus approximately 100 acres of real property, for an undisclosed cash sum.
Prior to its idling in the fourth quarter of 2015, the Old Town Mill manufactured and distributed approximately 155,000 air-dried metric tonnes annually of bleached hardwood kraft pulp.
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