White Birch Paper Newsprint Mill Abruptly Terminates Production

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Greenwich, Connecticut-based White Birch Paper Co., has announced its decision to cease production newsprint at the Bear Island facility in Ashland, Hanover County, Virginia with immediate effect. According to media reports, the decision was announced March 8^th.

White Birch has sold the mill facility to Cascades, Inc. in July last year. Cascades had announced plans to invest into the idled facility so as to convert it into recycled containerboard production. However, White Birch Paper decided later to operate the site as newsprint mill under a 27-month lease.

Christopher Brant, president of White Birch Paper, in a statement released during the first week of March, noted that the attempt to keep the Bear Island mill employees active through the mill’s ownership transition has come to an unfortunate and premature end. The very idea of continuing production amidst difficult market conditions was challenged by zero-tariff environment, he said. White Birch will hand over the control of the facility to its new owner in the forthcoming months, Brant added.

Meantime, Cascades plans to start production of containerboard from the facility in 2021. It anticipates an investment of approximately $275 million, creating nearly 140 new jobs in Hanover County. The production capacity of the new reconfigured machine is expected to be around 400,000 tons per annum.