Newark Group Expects to Restart Mill

The Newark Group expects to begin production by the end of this month on one of two machines it installed at a mill in Fitchburg, Mass., since the company bought the property at auction two years ago, a company executive said. A second machine, used in conjunction with the first one to produce paperboard, could be online within two or three weeks.

The 600,000-square-foot plant was targeted for an extensive recycling and de-inking operation in the mid-1990s, but that promising project fizzled amid a sagging market and a squabble between the owner and main contractor. A creditors' group, Princeton Paper, stalled in its bid to revive old papermaking machines, and the property went to auction.

In April 2000, The Newark Group claimed the plant and its idle equipment for $15 million. The company sold much of the deinking equipment and spent 18 months readying the plant for paperboard production.

The Newark Group spent around $100 million on equipment and building improvements. The company is in line for state tax credits and low-interest state bonds.