Wausau Paper to Close Wisconsin Mill

Wausau Paper, headquartered in Mosinee, Wis., has announced plans to close its Brokaw, Wis., paper mill by March 31, 2012. The mill, which manufactures a range of premium paper grades, will sell the division to Neenah Paper, which operates three mills in Wisconsin. The deal is expected to close Jan. 31, 2012. With the sale, Wausau has effectively left the print and color markets.
 

Wausau Paper President and CEO Thomas Howatt says, “I wish to express my sincere gratitude to our Print & Color employees for their unceasing efforts to re-engineer and sustain this business. Our decision to exit Print & Color was ultimately driven by dramatic and irreversible market demand decline and the need for consolidation to bring these markets properly into balance.” 
 

Howatt continues, “While the effort to secure a buyer for the mill was unsuccessful, the employees of the Print & Color business have done all that has been asked and this closure is in no way a reflection of their skill, talents or determination to return this business to acceptable levels of profitability.”