Forest product industry leaders to meet to survey challenges, develop plan for future
Courtesy / Maine Pulp & Paper Association
Sappi Fine Paper Co. Somerset mill in Skowhegan
A daylong summit Nov. 17 in Bangor aims to engage policymakers and stakeholders throughout Maine’s pulp and paper industry in an effort to develop a plan for keeping the industry alive for years to come.
The summit, organized by the Maine Pulp & Paper Association, will cover a range of issues for the industry, including energy costs, the availability and costs of wood fiber, transportation infrastructure, taxes and other public policy challenges.
It’s following a string of recent bad news for the paper and pulp industry in Maine. Just in September, Lincoln Paper and Tissue LLC filed for bankruptcy, Catalyst Paper announced it would keep a machine at Rumford Paper Mill shut down indefinitely and the owner of Old Town Fuel and Fiber pulp mill it will close the mill by year-end.
But Donna Cassese, chairwoman of the Maine Pulp and Paper Association, said Maine’s pulp and paper manufacturers are still part of one of the state’s biggest and most lucrative industries.
Maine's $8 billion forest products industry is tied to one in 20 jobs in Maine and has a total payroll of $1.9 billion, according to a 2013 report of the Maine Forest Products Council.
Tony Lyons, director of fiber supply and public policy at Catalyst Paper in Rumford and a member of the Maine Pulp & Paper Association, said this is a first summit of its kind for pulp and paper industry stakeholders and policymakers.
"It is a very critical time for the industry, which in spite of the headlines, is still one of the state's most important, directly employing almost 5,000 Mainers in high-paying jobs," Lyons said in a statement.
The keynote speaker for the event, David Zumeta, is an industry leader who helped implement lessons from a Minnesota task force to ensure the forest product industry in that state remained competitive. Zumeta will discuss how to develop and implement a similar public policy model in Maine.
The Bangor Daily News reported that one challenge facing Maine’s paper and pulp industry is that each mill’s operation is unique and has different costs, product and market mixes and margins.
Cassese told the BDN that it’s critical that each mill has its own plan for success, but issues with public policy will require the different stakeholders to work with lawmakers to maintain the industry.
Maine legislative leaders, who toured paper and pulp mills this week, are expected to attend, along with members of Gov. Paul LePage’s administration.
More than 200 people in total are expected to attend the summit scheduled for 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday at the Hilton Garden Inn in Bangor. Tickets for the event are available online.
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