As paper demand dwindles due to the economy, mills continue to try to control production. Evergreen Packaging last week announced additional machine shutdowns at its Canton, NC, and Pine Bluff, AR, mills in March and April.
Gregory Otto, Evergreen’s vice president of North American Paper Sales, said in a March 16 letter to customers the Canton mill will not use the machine for its #20 paper grade from March 22 through March 28. At the Pine Bluff facility, the manufacturer will halt its #1 grade machine for 13 days, from March 26 through April 7.
The temporary curtailments “are necessary to match our production to the slower demand environment we are experiencing in the uncoated freesheet and coated groundwood markets,” Otto said in the letter.
During this downtime, Evergreen will continue to be use the #11 and #12 paper machines at Canton. “At Pine Bluff we have adequate inventory on hand to ensure your continued supply,” the letter added.
Pine Bluff Coated Papers and Blue Ridge Paper Products joined Iin December 2008, to form Evergreen Packaging’s North American Paper Sales. As a result, the company now offers an array of products for publication, printing and converting applications. The company’s publication papers are used by magazine, catalog, and book publishers.