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Sour economy continues: Mill will close for 3 weeks Local industry -- White Birch paper mill in Newberg slates a three-week stoppage beginning Feb. 20; hundreds of workers will go without pay David Sale February 17, 2009 The White Birch paper mill in Newberg, formerly SP Newsprint, announced last week it will undergo a three-week temporary shutdown from Feb. 20 through March 8. Company officials described the closure as "market-related downtime," taken in response to falling demand for newsprint paper. "This is very rare, but a sign of how the economy is affecting everyone," said Ken Hardwick, area representative for the Association of Western Pulp and Paper Workers (AWPPW), the union which represents the approximately 200 hourly workers at the plant. With an annual payroll of more than $20 million, the mill is Newberg's second-largest private employer (after dental manufacturer A-dec Inc.) and one of the largest employers in Yamhill County. The plant's workers, the majority local residents, will go without pay for the duration of the stoppage. However, the decision did not come without warning, Hardwick said. "Management did notify us at the first of the year that we would have some downtime during the first quarter," he said. "So that's about a month's notice." Formerly known as SP Newsprint, the Newberg mill was sold to the Quebec-based White Birch Paper Co. for $350 million in 2007. The former owners, a consortium of three large newspaper chains (Cox Enterprises and Virginia-based Media General, Inc. and The McClatchy Co.) had initially placed the property on the market due to falling demand. "This is probably the first time I've ever seen a stoppage," Hardwick added. "Usually they can just store any extra production, but the warehouse spaces are full." The company estimates the stoppage will reduce production by approximately 20,000 metric tons, but newsprint buyers will see no interruption in deliveries. Under normal operation, the mill produces 1,180 tons of recycled newsprint per day. White Birch, with production facilities in the U.S. and Canada, is the second-largest newsprint producer in North America with annual production totaling 1.35 million tons.

Sour economy continues: Mill will close for 3 weeks

Local industry -- White Birch paper mill in Newberg slates a three-week stoppage beginning Feb. 20; hundreds of workers will go without pay

David Sale

February 17, 2009

The White Birch paper mill in Newberg, formerly SP Newsprint, announced last week it will undergo a three-week temporary shutdown from Feb. 20 through March 8.

Company officials described the closure as "market-related downtime," taken in response to falling demand for newsprint paper.

"This is very rare, but a sign of how the economy is affecting everyone," said Ken Hardwick, area representative for the Association of Western Pulp and Paper Workers (AWPPW), the union which represents the approximately 200 hourly workers at the plant.

With an annual payroll of more than $20 million, the mill is Newberg's second-largest private employer (after dental manufacturer A-dec Inc.) and one of the largest employers in Yamhill County.

The plant's workers, the majority local residents, will go without pay for the duration of the stoppage. However, the decision did not come without warning, Hardwick said.

"Management did notify us at the first of the year that we would have some downtime during the first quarter," he said. "So that's about a month's notice."

Formerly known as SP Newsprint, the Newberg mill was sold to the Quebec-based White Birch Paper Co. for $350 million in 2007. The former owners, a consortium of three large newspaper chains (Cox Enterprises and Virginia-based Media General, Inc. and The McClatchy Co.) had initially placed the property on the market due to falling demand.

"This is probably the first time I've ever seen a stoppage," Hardwick added. "Usually they can just store any extra production, but the warehouse spaces are full."

The company estimates the stoppage will reduce production by approximately 20,000 metric tons, but newsprint buyers will see no interruption in deliveries. Under normal operation, the mill produces 1,180 tons of recycled newsprint per day.

White Birch, with production facilities in the U.S. and Canada, is the second-largest newsprint producer in North America with annual production totaling 1.35 million tons.