Chillicothe — With the threat of closure for the Pixelle paper mill, hopes of saving it and rumors of who might do that are circulating.
See highlights of the first two ‘paper mil response team’ meetings in a related story…where among many topics, it was mentioned on the April 28th that they need to bring in experts to understand the paper industry.
For example, Sofidel in Pickaway County uses a different pulp to manufacture their tissue paper – but maybe Pixelle pulp could be processed so it can replace the South American pulp used by Sofidel.
Production of food-grade paper and corrugated cardboard were also mentioned.
Then, there was mention of rumors of interest – specifically, Nine Dragons of China, and ST Tissues of India (…and Finch Paper of New York state).
“Nine Dragons Paper (Holdings) Limited” – from their English translation:
“Established in 1995 with headquarters in Dongguan City, Guangdong Province, Nine Dragons Paper (Holdings) Limited was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2006.
“It is the world’s largest paper manufacturing group in terms of production capacity, and a leading enterprise in the integrated production of pulp and paper (main products include different kinds of environmentally friendly packaging paper, high-end virgin paper, and products from the upstream and downstream production chain). The Group currently has an annual design production capacity over 23 million tonnes and over 20,000 employees.
“Currently, Nine Dragons Paper has production bases in Dongguan, Taicang, Chongqing, Tianjin, Quanzhou, Shenyang, Leshan, Tangshan, Jingzhou and Beihai in China. While actively responding to China’s Belt and Road Initiative, Nine Dragons Paper persisted to pursue an international development while enhancing the production chain…[by acquiring control of] Cheng Yang Paper (Vietnam)…
“…In 2018, Nine Dragons Paper acquired four pulp/paper mills in the U.S. (Rumford and Old Town Divisions in Maine; Biron Division in Wisconsin; Fairmont Division in West Virginia).
“S.S. Tissues” is a small company in a basement in New Delhi, India…so I don’t think that is the company the group meant. I think the group meant ST Tissue LLC – with mills in Oconto Falls, Wisconsin, and Isle of Wight, Virginia:
“In 2007 ST Paper was founded by Sharad Tak and his son Sahil Tak…
“ST Paper and ST Tissue are minority owned tissue mills located in hard working, rural communities that produce bath tissue, paper towels, and napkins for the North American commercial market.”
Another rumored possible buyer that was mentioned to me recently in social media is Finch Paper of Glens Falls, New York:
“As the most enterprising, privately held pulp and paper manufacturer in North America, Finch is a highly reputable brand offering limitless possibilities. We have uncoated paper solutions for all markets and price points…
“For more than 150 years, we have helped our customers adapt with fast, flexible product development, and expansive papermaking and converting capabilities. Finch services numerous markets, including commercial printing and direct mail, book publishing, financial printing, transactional printing, envelope and forms converting, labels and packaging, and specialty papers.”
The paper mill response team will reconvene for their fourth time at 1pm Monday, May 12th, with an “Economic Development Update” at 2. (Find the commissioners’ agendas on their website.)
