The first of the two tissue machines that will be run by St. Croix Tissue at the Woodland Pulp mill in Baileyville began its startup phase in March and made its first saleable paper on March 16. The second machine is scheduled to begin production by the end of June or in July.
     St. Croix Tissue is bucking the statewide trend of paper mill closings, with five mills, in Madison, East Millinocket, Lincoln, Old Town and Bucksport, having shut down in the past three years. At one time Maine had 17 paper mills but soon will have only six.
     Scott Beal, spokesman for Woodland Pulp, believes the $120 million investment in the tissue mill by its owners, International Grand Investment Corp. (IGIC), has been a wise decision, noting, "This huge capital project allows us to diversity our product line and at the same time produce a value-added line of tissue products."
     St. Croix Tissue is now employing about 80 workers, which is the full employment level. Of the 40 students who took part in a training course at Washington County Community College to learn about paper-making technology so they would be prepared for an interview at St. Croix Tissue, 17 ended up being hired. Beal is not sure how many actually applied for a job at the plant. Along with the 80 jobs at the mill, it's estimated that 400 indirect jobs have been created, for truckers, loggers and others.
     Along with those working at St. Croix Tissue, the pulp mill is employing 320 people and is running at full production, turning out 400,000 tons a year.
     Each of the tissue machines is expected to produce 5,000 metric tons per month, for a total of 120,000 tons a year. When full production will be reached has not yet been determined.
     The tissue mill is supplied by the pulp mill, and the amount of slush pulp that will be diverted from the pulp market will be determined once the second tissue machine starts up. When International Grand Investment Corp. announced the addition of the two tissue machines in March 2014, IGIC/Woodland Pulp CEO A.K. Argawal had stated that the pulp used for tissue plant would be about 30% of the pulp mill's total output. Woodland Pulp has been exporting about 70% of its output overseas through the Port of Eastport, and Argawal did not expect that to change with the addition of the tissue machines. Beal notes, "We don't plan any significant changes in the volume of pulp produced."
     The majority of the tissue paper produced will be trucked to northern Virginia and some will be shipped to the West Coast. The tissue machines create a product that is used to make paper towels, napkins, bathroom tissue and more.
     Concerning whether St. Croix Tissue may ship some through the Port of Eastport in the future, Beal says, "We enjoy having optional modes of transportation and are always evaluating such to make the best business decision possible."
     Beal says the mill's energy savings achieved by switching from oil to natural gas helped with the tissue machine project. In 2011, Woodland Pulp constructed a gas pipeline to the mill from the Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline in Princeton, and the mill's owners had expected to recoup the $12 million cost for the 4.5-mile pipeline in a year, through avoided costs for oil. Beal notes, "This conversion project yielded tremendous financial and environmental benefits to Woodland Pulp and was an important consideration in ultimately deciding to go forward with tissue manufacturing in 2014."