Chillicothe — Having ownership for only three days, new mill owner “U.S. Paper Mill Company” hosted an upbeat news conference on Friday in front of two glove production lines already installed. I spoke with one of the company investors who said they are at only the start of the process of planning to reuse the property.
With mostly government officials in front of the cameras, and many workers in the crowd of maybe 175 in the former shipping warehouse along 8th Street, it was a positive conclusion to the fate of Chillicothe’s paper mill.
And yet, not the conclusion – with the new owner saying they still want to restart some of the paper production, along with adding more glove assembly lines, and be responsive to Chillicothe and regional needs.
U.S. Paper Mill Company LLC now owns the entire former Pixelle property, which was shut down over the summer after an April 15th surprise announcement. The company is an apparent subsidiary of U.S. Medical Glove Company based in Illinois. Learn more about that in my background story on earlier rumors of the changeover.
Company workers from Illinois were already on-site and in the crowd, and some former Pixelle employees have been rehired. Read more in our first news story.
In the more than half-hour news conference, one company leader spoke briefly. Florida businesswoman Robin Bernstein said she knows from her native small town in New Jersey what happens when a leading industry leaves a community: a loss of income, a rise of crime. She said this development is American exceptionalism at its best.
Afterward, Bernstein introduced herself in my interview as a retired ambassador to the Dominican Republic in Donald Trump’s first term. She said she is a partner in the U.S. Paper Mill Company and is an “economic warrior” for Trump. (Hear her in her own words below.)
Bernstein said she was on a Caribbean island during Covid when they had to get protective gear made in China…and she said she never wants that to happen again in the United States.
I told her that at first I thought the two production lines standing there were props, since the company had taken possession of the property barely three days before. She said no, they are functional lines, not just for display – it’s been a really quick development. The lines are movable: they are bolted to floor here, but she said they could even be on a naval ship.
Bernstein said the company fabricated every bit of them, down to the bolts and screws – homemade in Illinois. They can make more than 200K gloves a week on each one.
She said they want totally “vertical production” here, including making boxes for the gloves. Bernstein said it is important to diversify the revenue source for the company, and not be dependant on single product…like paper.
In response to my questions, she said the amount of the mill they will use depends depends on glove orders, and they may sublease parts – but they are waiting to work with the community on a master plan.
(Ross County Commissioner David Glass also told me that the local ‘paper mill response team’ that was focused on options after the announced shutdown will now change into an economic planning effort. That interview is forthcoming.)
Closing the interview on a note of boosterism, Bernstein responded to my question of ‘what will we see here,’ with “American innovation at finest.” She said they will be training in the best ideas on the best tech from the best minds, and are here to help create jobs in America.
Watch for more videos and stories from Friday’s event.
