Katahdin Paper plans to restart Millinocket mill in autumn

MILLINOCKET – Katahdin Paper is on track to bring its dormant Millinocket mill up and running by fall, according to a company official.

The company has no plans to restart it sooner, although it is looking at options and hopes to make a specific announcement soon, according to Glenn Saucier, the company’s human resources manager.

Shaky market conditions are causing the company to be cautious, he said.

“The paper market still isn’t all that great, so it’s going to be a timing issue to get in there,” Saucier said this week. “And if you don’t do it right, you could fall on your face.”

Previously owned by Great Northern Paper, the mills in East Millinocket and Millinocket employed 1,130 people before the company’s closing and bankruptcy in January. The East Millinocket facility began making newsprint again in June with 400 workers.

The company is optimistic the Millinocket facility again will play a viable role in the paper industry, Saucier said.

“Once it starts up, we’re confident we’ll do well with the place as long as we have the proper balance of fiber,” Saucier said, adding that the company is working to identify the lowest-cost option for buying pulp.

Restarting the No. 11 supercalendered paper machine and the potential 12- to 18-month construction of a new bleach chemi-thermo-mechanical pulping operation are still the main options, Saucier said. The company would need a significant round wood supply, which is also of concern, he said.

Company officials are looking to employ 130 to 150 people when the facility reopens, Saucier said.

The Millinocket facility is staffed by a crew of eight who are working to maintain heat to the area surrounding the No. 11 machine, the administration office and the engineering and research facility, he said.

When asked, Saucier said there were no planned shutdowns at the East Millinocket facility.