MADAWASKA, Maine — Twin Rivers Paper Co. will purchase the paper manufacturing assets of New York-based Burrows Paper Corp. for an undisclosed amount of money, Twin Rivers announced Friday.
Four specialty paper mills at Burrows facilities in New York and Mississippi will be added to Twin Rivers as a result of the acquisition.
Twin Rivers chief executive officer Bob Snyder said in a release Friday that the new assets “strategically build upon” Twin Rivers foundation as a “nimble, high-quality, integrated forest products company.”
Twin Rivers products include Acadia packaging products, Alliance label products and Pharmopaque pharmaceutical papers. The company employs more than 1,000 people and is owned jointly by Atlas Holdings LLC and Blue Wolf Capital.
In June the company announced it would shut down its No. 3 paper machine and lay off about 49 workers at its Madawaska mill the following month, as part of a $12 million investment in the facility and “strategic realignment” by the company.
Those layoffs followed a seven-year decrease from 2008 through 2015 in Maine paper manufacturing employment of about one third,according to data from Maine Department of Labor.
In just the past two years, Expera’s mill in Old Town, the Lincoln Paper and Tissue mill and the Verso Paper mill in Bucksport all have shut down. Verso has laid off hundreds more employees at its mill in Jay and, earlier this year, Madison Paper Industries announced plans to shut down
Terms of the sale of the Burrows Paper mills to Twin Rivers, which is due to close during the fourth quarter of this year, were not disclosed.
“This transaction is a ‘win’ for our business, the customers we serve and the communities, both current and future, that we are privileged to call home,” Twin Rivers president Ken Winterhalter said in the release. “The experienced team joining Twin Rivers shares the commitment to quality, innovation and service excellence that has been our trademark at Twin Rivers.”
On Friday, Maine Gov. Paul LePage said the purchase is an indication that the paper industry in Maine remains viable and praised Twin Rivers for efforts “to rebrand the pulp and paper industry.”
“Now more than ever, it is important to make sure Maine is competitive in attracting new job creators and retaining existing companies by lowering taxes, reducing energy costs and providing a welcoming atmosphere for businesses and capital investment,” LePage said.