International Paper To Permanently Shutter Orange Mill; To Impact 900 Positions

(RTTNews) - International Paper (IP) announced Wednesday a series of actions to further strengthen and optimize its manufacturing system to meet customers' needs.

The company will permanently close its Orange, Texas-based containerboard mill, which will impact a total of 900 positions.

The company will permanently cease production on two of its pulp machines - the Riegelwood, North Carolina-based #20 machine, and the Pensacola, Florida-based #4 machine.

The company expects the Orange mill and the #20 machine in Riegelwood to cease production by the end of the year. The #4 machine in Pensacola is currently idled and will not resume production.

The permanent closure of the Orange mill will reduce the company's containerboard capacity by approximately 800,000 tons. It will also reduce the company's pulp capacity by approximately 500,000 tons (300,000 tons fluff pulp and 200,000 tons southern bleached softwood).