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Putney mill closing after 150 years

EAGLE TIMES STAFF
After more than 150 years, the paper machines in Putney, Vt., have come to a stop.

On Tuesday, Soundview Vermont Holdings began shutting down the Putney Paper Mill, with papermaking operations ceasing immediately, and a nearby paper converting facility will finish operations by the end of March.

According to the Vermont Labor Department, the closure will cost the community 127 jobs.

While the shutdown comes without the 45-day notice required by the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act and Vermont’s Notice of Potential Layoff Act, Soundview won’t face any fines or penalties as the company is providing a minimum of 60-days pay with benefits for all impacted workers, according to the Labor Department.

“Despite our best efforts to sustain operations at this historic paper mill, we had no choice but to shut down operations,” said Soundview Vermont President Rob Baron told the Brattleboro Reformer in a press release.

“The high cost of energy in the region has made it unaffordable to keep our doors open.”

“The Vermont Department of Labor is saddened by the news of the closure of the Putney Paper Mill facilities in Putney, VT,” said Labor Commissioner Michael Harrington.

“We are actively collaborating with the employer, Soundview Vermont Holdings, LLC, to ensure that comprehensive support services are provided in partnership with our department to ensure that affected employees received information regarding unemployment benefits and reemployment services.”

The Labor Department’s services include “informative sessions on Unemployment Insurance, guidance on health insurance options through Vermont Health Connect and re-employment services such as job search strategies, referrals, and training opportunities,” said Commissioner Harrington.

“Additionally, the Department will assist in hosting job fairs and hiring events to establish direct connections between the impacted workers and local employers in Putney.”

Former employees can also receive assistance at Vermont Job Centers in Brattleboro and Springfield or by calling 802-828-4394.

Jay Ramsey, workforce development director for the Labor Department, told the Reformer that at the same time the plant is closing, a record number of jobs — 8,833 — are currently listed with the state.

Papermaking began along Sacketts Brook in Putney in 1818 or 1819 when Solomon Stimson, Lawson Green and Ebenezer Fairbanks built the first mill, according to a history maintained by the town. The original mill would last only a decade before being destroyed in a flood.

The current mill, the Eagle Mill, dates to 1869 and is just upstream of the site of another paper mill — the Owl Mill, which burned in 1903.

Soundview was only formed in 2012 by Atlas Holdings and launched, according to an April 2012 press release, to purchase New Jersey’s Marcal Paper. Putney Paper, which supplied Marcal with tissue products, was acquired only months later, with the acquisition completed on Jan. 1, 2013, according to Industry Intelligence.

Today, Atlas Holdings has a diverse portfolio of 25 manufacturing and distribution businesses ranging from paper to a company that sells graduation caps and gowns to chicken producer Foster Farms.

And while the company may be closing its Putney, Vt., plant, it isn’t exiting the tissue business. Marcal recently announced it was acquiring another tissue and towel manufacturer, North Carolina-based von Drehle Corporation.

In a press release announcing the acquisition dated Dec. 22, Marcal said, “the combined company provides customers with a broad product range and enhanced scale, expanding Marcal’s footprint to service customers all along the East Coast and across the country.”

Marcal also continues to operate a facility in Brattleboro, Vt., according to Atlas Holdings.

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