BUCKSPORT – The Verso Paper mill is preparing for a two-week shutdown that will begin Sunday.

The shutdown is in response to market conditions, according to Verso spokesman Bill Cohen.

The paper industry runs in cycles and there is now less demand for the company’s products at this time, Cohen said when the shut down was announced in July.

The short time the mill will be shut down will allow the market to catch up.

The mill produces lightweight, coated paper that is used mainly in catalogs and magazines.

Cohen said the company deliberately prepared ahead for the shutdown.

“Rather than react to the market, we wanted to get out in front of it,” he said. “The mill manager also wanted to give employees time to make plans.”

This will be a partial shutdown, Cohen said. One machine, the No. 5 paper machine, will continue to operate, and part of the pulp mill also will continue to operate, he said.

The company also plans to perform maintenance work throughout the mill during the shutdown.

Verso officials still were completing plans for the shutdown as of Wednesday and did not know how many employees would continue to work during the break. The mill employs 795 people.

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