Red Shield likely idle until Monday

OLD TOWN – Red Shield Environmental LLC likely will remain idle through the weekend because of continuing problems with low wood supply, a company spokesman said Tuesday afternoon.

Dan Bird said the facility could open Thursday, but probably will remain off line until Monday, when the maintenance crews return from the weekend. It will take about three days to get the facility running, said Red Shield spokesman Dan Bird.

Red Shield, the company that purchased the former Georgia-Pacific Corp. mill, shut down Friday because of wood supply issues. Officials had estimated the facility would reopen Tuesday.

“We have to undergo an assessment day by day so we can get an uninterrupted wood supply we can afford,” Bird said. “We’re working with the wood suppliers to help us get through these issues.”

As fuel costs rise and are passed on to pulp companies, Bird said, Red Shield keeps a smaller supply of wood on hand. The wood is used to make pulp and as fuel for Red Shield’s biomass boiler. The fuel produces power for the mill and electricity sold to the power grid.

Bird said 160 to 170 workers would be called back to work when the facility restarts. Some Red Shield employees, including managerial staff, remained on site to keep some necessary machines running.

Red Shield purchased the facility after Georgia-Pacific Corp. announced it was closing the mill in 2006. Red Shield, which is made up of a group of private investors, currently has about 190 employees, Bird said.