New paper mill opens in Wisconsin
The state of Wisconsin ranks first in the country for the number of paper mills
Widely recognized for its pulp and paper market, especially tissue, Green Bay, in the state of Wisconsin, welcomed a new paper mill, Green Bay Packaging.
Replacing the original mill built in 1947, the new $500 million plant ceremonially cut the ribbon last Thursday (17). This is the first new paper mill to be built in the state of Wisconsin in over 35 years.
According to WBAY, CEO and President Will Kress praised the new plant’s environmental improvements.
“To say it’s just a paper machine is an oversimplification of what’s been built here. We basically built a brand-new paper mill from the ground up. So we have a new office. We have new boilers, two new boilers, we switched from coal to natural gas, which is a big environmental improvement,” says Kress. “We have a new water effluent treatment plant which allows us not to discharge any water into the Fox River. We clean it here, we send it to NEW Water just down the river, they clean it some more, they send it back, we clean it some more and then we reuse that water along with some other industrial users’ water, so we are conserving water, number one, and also zero discharge into the Fox River.”
Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation Secretary Missy Hughes was present at the ceremony and said the factory supports and drives the forest products industry in Wisconsin.
Wisconsin ranks first in the country for the number of paper mills. Wisconsin’s pulp, paper and converting industries generate $18 billion and the paper plants use what is grown in the state.
