Fort Mill, South Carolina based Domtar announced the grand reopening celebration at the Kingsport Mill attended by executives, employees, state and local dignitaries.
The event marked the completion of the mill’s conversion into the first 100 percent recycled containerboard facility. The two-year project transformed the mill’s uncoated freesheet paper machine into the second-largest 100 percent-recycled containerboard machine in North America, capable of producing approximately 600,000 tons of high-quality recycled linerboard and corrugated medium annually.
“Our machine is one of the most sophisticated and highly automated machines in North America,” says Mill Manager Troy Wilson. “Its state-of-the-art technology is enabling us to provide our customers a high-quality, consistent product thanks to a highly controllable, stable and repeatable process.”
The mill reopened in January and is now the largest recycled manufacturer in the state of Tennessee.
“We’re building on our 175-year legacy as a fiber innovator by entering the packaging business. It’s a large and growing market, and we’re very excited by the customer response we’ve received,” said Steve Henry, Domtar Executive Vice President and CEO.
Domtar said they completed the project safely with onsite construction crews at the mill surpassing 2.5 million hours without a lost-time incident during the two-year conversion. The safety streak started when the project began in the fall of 2020.
“Throughout the project, we did everything we could to show our contract support personnel that we cared about them,” says Charlie Floyd, Vice President of Strategic Capital Projects for Domtar’s packaging business. “Our only priority was ensuring they would return home to their families safely. Nothing we do is more important than keeping our people safe.”
Kingsport Mayor Pat Shull said the project was made possible thanks to a great partnership between Domtar and community leaders.