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Georgia-Pacific looks for buyer for one mill, closes another

Georgia-Pacific’s announcement of plans to sell its mill in Old Town, Maine, has drummed up substantial interest fr…

Georgia-Pacific’s announcement of plans to sell its mill in Old Town, Maine, has drummed up substantial interest from potential buyers.

According to a report by Bangor Daily News, there are currently six or seven prospects that might save the mill from closure and more than 400 people from unemployment.

“Two other interested buyers came forward yesterday,” Bangor reported Governor John Baldacci’s spokesman Dan Cashman as saying. “That makes it a very optimistic look to the future.”

The Old Town pulp mill stopped production on March 18, and workers began the process of shutting down the facility. Georgia-Pacific has confirmed it will maintain the mill for a period of 60 days, after which point, if a buyer is not secured, the facility will permanently close, and employees will have to start looking for new jobs.

Roughly 160 people are working at the mill now, Bangor confirmed. The last week of March will see that number drop down to 90.

The next several days will see potential buyers meeting with state officials to tour the mill.

Not all of Georgia-Pacific’s employees were provided with the same preparation for closure. Workers at the company’s Gaylord mill in Michigan had no idea the facility was closing until they got to work to find the doors locked.

According to a report by the Record-Eagle, employees showed up at the mill for their 8 a.m. shift, only to find themselves locked out.

The company announced an ‘immediate and permanent closure,’ that implied the loss of 210 jobs.