A senior forest products adviser at the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development is reporting that a buyer has been found for the Old Town Fuel and Fiber mill that closed indefinitely on Aug. 14.
Rosaire Pelletier told the Portland Press Herald that negotiations to buy the mill are in an “early stage” but are “progressing well.”
Pelletier declined to identify the potential buyer, but told the newspaper the prospective buyer’s intention would be to restart the pulp mill and rehire the 180 workers who were laid off when New York-based private equity firm Patriarch Partners closed the mill. Press reports at the time of the closure said the shutdown was a result of increasing foreign competition and high wood and energy costs.
The mill, which made pulp, also has been researching the development of alternative biofuels made from wood.