Bio-Pappel US paper mill to begin operations next year

The McKinley Paper Co., a subsidiary of Mexico-based Bio-Pappel, plans to begin production at its mill in Port Angeles, Washington, by September 2019, according to an online article posted by the Peninsula Daily News. 

Earlier this year, McKinley Paper had pushed back its plans to reopen the paper mill that it originally purchased in March 2017.

According to an online report from the Peninsula Daily News, McKinley Paper plans to produce 250,000 tons of containerboard at the mill, which doubles its domestic capacity and brings its total annual capacity to 2 million tons in Mexico and the U.S. The company announced that it plans to start production by September 2019.

Initially, McKinley purchased the Port Angeles mill from Japanese-owned Nippon Paper Industries USA for $20.6 million in March 2017. The Mexican-owned company is retooling the 98-year-old factory to manufacture containerboard from recycled cardboard, which is a heavier grade paper than the newsprint and telephone directory paper that Nippon produced, the Peninsula Daily News reports. 

McKinley told the Peninsula Daily News that it expects to have a total of 150 employees once it starts up next fall, and there are currently 25 McKinley employees maintaining the Port Angeles plant.

Additionally, the company told the Peninsula Daily News it plans to copy its sustainability model to produce paper without cutting trees by recycling paper.