Georgia Pacific commits to long-term operations of Wauna paper mill

Published 4:00 pm Friday, February 29, 2008

At a time when the paper products manufacturing industry in the Northwest is suffering through one of its worst economic downturns in recent memory, Georgia Pacific’s $200 million expansion of its Wauna mill underscores the company’s long-term investment in the region and, in particular, its commitment to the nearly 45-year-old plant located near Clatskanie, company officials say.

In November, the Wauna facility started up its newest addition the No. 7 paper machine which is producing a higher quality version of the company’s Brawny paper towels. Wauna is one of only two Georgia Pacific mills in the country that is making the new Brawny product. The other mill is located at Port Hudson, La.

“This is not an investment that we made lightly,” Sean Fallmann, the company’s president of North American Retail Products, told an audience of some 200 community leaders, contractors and other dignitaries invited to see the new paper machine in operation on Feb. 7.

Fallmann described the state-of-the-art paper machine as a “world-class asset.”

“It’s a clear sign of our commitment to both Wauna, and to the business as a whole, that we decided to put the machine here,” he added.

The through-air-dried (TAD) tissue machine was built in Sweden and stands three stories high. A new building was constructed at the Wauna facility to accommodate the equipment, which includes a 230-ton “Yankee dryer.” All of the equipment is operated from a computerized control room, staffed by three people. The machine can also be operated manually.

Construction started in 2006. At its height, the new machine project employed more than 700 construction workers on-site, according to the company.

The project set a new safety record for the lowest recordable incident rate (RIR): .88, and lost time RIR: .35 a record six times better than the industry average, said Price Howard, Georgia Pacific project manager.

“This was one of most successful projects in our history,” Howard said.

The No. 7 machine, which went on line Nov. 14, bettering its scheduled start-up by one day, is expected to produce some 70,000 tons of paper towels per year, said Kristi Ward, a mill spokeswoman.

The Wauna mill will supply the new Brawny product to markets west of the Rocky Mountains, while the Louisiana mill will make the product for the remainder of the country.

James Jordan, Georgia Pacific vice president and manager of the Wauna mill, identified the quality of the local workforce and low electricity costs as key factors in the company’s decision to invest in the new equipment at Wauna.

“The Wauna mill will be a critical part in the future of Georgia Pacific,” Jordan said.

Mark Schneider, project operations leader, also credited local and state officials, as well as the Oregon departments of Transportation and Energy for their assistance with the project.

The project qualified for special tax abatement through the Lower Columbia River Maritime Enterprise Council, a special program designed to provide tax incentives to companies that invest capital to create new jobs.

The Wauna mill first began operations in 1965 and was acquired by Georgia Pacific in 2000.

This is the second major expansion at the mill since 2004, when the No. 6 tissue machine went on line, adding 110 new jobs. That machine also will make the new Brawny towels.

Since June 2007, the company has hired an additional 80 new employees to increase total employment at the mill to more than 850 union workers and some 150 salaried employees, Ward said. The average wage is $60,000 per year.

Ward said the company recently completed an employment recruitment program to build its new job applicant pool as it expects to fill some 200 jobs due to retirements over the next several months.

Approximately 40 percent of the mill’s employees live in Clatskanie, 12 miles east of Wauna.

Clatskanie Mayor Diane Pohl said her community has had a “long history of partnership” with the Wauna factory.

“The jobs at the Wauna mill kept Clatskanie going during the downturn in the lumber industry,” the mayor said, adding that it was not uncommon to know of local families who have worked at Wauna for three generations.

She said the “relationship” between the mill and the community “can only be strengthened” by Georgia Pacific’s investment in the facility.