MILLINOCKET – Great Northern Paper Inc. will temporarily shut down another paper machine at its Millinocket mill beginning Monday.

Difficult market conditions prompted the company to shut down the No. 8 paper machine at the Millinocket mill for one week. The No. 7 paper machine in Millinocket was shut down temporarily earlier this week and will remain down for another week, according to company officials.

Brian Stetson, GNP manager of governmental and environmental affairs, estimated about 60 people would be affected by the production curtailment.

“Startup of one or both paper machines is anticipated for June 3, if sufficient orders have been obtained,” said GNP President Eldon Doody in an announcement to employees.

“Forecasts for the second half of the year call for strong paper markets, but at the moment markets continue to be weak in part due to the large amount of paper imported from other countries,” said Stetson.

The latest paper machine shutdowns at the Millinocket paper mill follow several since March.

Citing weak paper markets, Great Northern Paper Inc. earlier shut down all production at its East Millinocket and Millinocket paper mills for two weeks, which affected about 1,000 employees. Production at both paper mills resumed May 13.

Along with the earlier two-week production curtailment of its two paper mills, the company also indefinitely shut down the off-machine blade coater at the Millinocket mill. The off-machine blade coater places a glossy coat on papers. Officials said the move reflected forecasts for weak markets in coated papers for the rest of the year. The operation employed about 27 people. About 15 jobs were eliminated.

Company officials don’t expect markets to turn around enough this year to resume use of the off-machine blade coater, but if markets improve it could be put back into operation.

The East Millinocket paper mill produces telephone directory papers and the Millinocket mill produces papers used for advertising.