Chillicothe, the Regional Economy – and Miami, Florida — With the official closing date of the Chillicothe paper mill on Sunday, the historical industry has finally ended after 178 years in Chillicothe and 213 in Ross County.* But its story is not over.
Mill processes were ended over the last four months so that apparently only maintenance and security personnel remain at work…for now. But, apparently serious offers to buy the property are being considered by the private equity firm that ultimately owns it.
The “Pixelle Response Team” again met at 1pm Monday, August 11th, in the chambers of the Ross County Commissioners – in executive session. But Tammy Eallonardo, Director of “Greater Chillicothe & Ross County Development,” provided a statement to me after the closed meeting:
“Pixelle Specialty Solutions officially ended operations on Sunday, August 10. Approximately 440-450 employees were laid-off on this date. The remaining 250 employees will continue to work until the end of August.
“Ohio Job & Family Services continues to provide information and resources to displaced employees by staffing a resource center at the public library, open Monday-Thursday, 9am-4pm. These hours may be adjusted as demand dictates. Visit SciotoValleyForward.com for more info.
“The owner of the mill, H.I.G. Capital, states they are reviewing ‘offers’ to purchase the mill and that the local community will be notified of their decision in approximately three weeks.
“To date, H.I.G. Capital has not responded to the community’s request to be involved in the decision making process.
“Ohio EPA has met with Pixelle Specialty Solutions and Howmet Aerospace regarding the TC plume and continues to closely monitor the situation to ensure the safety of our community.”
(Howmet owns the former Wear-Ever factory on Eastern Avenue, where toxic Trichloroethylene in groundwater has been restrained by high-capacity paper mill wells while it has been in production.)
Eallonardo further clarified that when a deal / sale is made, H.I.G. will notify the response team’s partner, JobsOhio – who “shares information openly with the local team.” She wrote that H.I.G. Capital has said they expect their vetting process on offers to take approximately three weeks.
Eallonardo previously said that at least fifteen potential buyers have toured the paper mill. The deadline set by H.I.G. for purchase offers to be submitted was July 3rd. It has not been revealed who those companies are or what they might produce on the site.
Ross County Commissioner Jack Everson had told me that there have been no restrictions on marketing and giving site tours – which he said were given by Pixelle itself.
A June informal agreement on the Chillicothe paper mill property between the owner and the state’s economic development corporation had set five “preliminary terms,” including that Pixelle is responsible for environmental remediation, demolition, and obligations to unions – and that all proceeds from the sale of the property will be for the benefit of former employees and the Chillicothe community.
The paper mill, operated by the Mead Corporation for more than a century, has been operated by “Pixelle Specialty Solutions” since 2018, a reorganization of the Pennsylvania-based P.H. Glatfelter Company. Pixelle was bought by Miami, Florida-based H.I.G. Capital LLC in 2022. (See my blog “Corporate Evolution of the Chillicothe Paper Mill in the Twenty-First Century.”)
Search for many stories chronicling the paper mill saga since since the closure announcement on April 15th in the Scioto Post. Unofficial paper mill pages on Facebook also host many posts from employees and historians.
*The paper mill on Kinnikinnick Creek started in 1812 when young brothers Hezekiah and Isaiah Ingham were paroled from the War of 1812, and paid David Crouse to modify his grist mill. Later owners started a branch mill on the Hydraulic Canal south of growing Chillicothe in 1847…which continued operations until this year.
