NewPage to Close Coated Paper Mill

MIAMISBURG, OH—NewPage Corp. announced that it will close its Whiting, WI, mill at the end of February. Approximately 360 employees will be affected by the shutdown.

The Whiting mill currently operates two paper machines, which produce approximately 250,000 tons annually of coated paper used by the publishing and printing industry, with a focus on magazine and retailer markets.

"While we have seen modest recovery in our coated markets, we continue to monitor the supply and demand balance, and make the difficult choices needed to avoid oversupplying those markets," said George Martin, NewPage president and CEO.

"NewPage has the capacity and operational flexibility to produce both coated groundwood and coated freesheet on the same machines at other facilities. Therefore, we do not expect any interruptions in service to our customers while closing the Whiting mill, which is our highest cost-per-ton coated groundwood mill."