Clearwater Paper Sells Five Paper Plants, Including One In East Hartford

Clearwater Paper Corp. has sold its specialty-products businesses and mills, including its East Hartford operations, to Dunn Paper Inc. of Port Huron, Mich.

The divestiture, which closed Tuesday, comprises the Clearwater Paper subsidiaries and facilities in East Hartford; Menominee, Mich.; Gouverneur, N.Y.; St. Catharines, Ontario; and Wiggins, Miss.

Clearwater Paper CEO Linda Massman said the company is focusing on its tissue-paper consumer products. Proceeds from the sale of its specialty-business line will allow Clearwater Paper, based in Spokane, Wash., to invest capital into its core business, the Consumer Products Division.

Clearwater Paper’s consumer products include tissue and paperboard sold to major retailers and wholesale distributors, including groceries, drug stores, large merchants and discount stores.

Dunn Paper CEO Brent Earnshaw said in a statement, “Combining the unique assets, capabilities and products of these mills with Dunn Paper’s Port Huron mill will lead to a specialty paper company with unmatched product offerings for our diverse customer base.”

The sale adds 470 employees to Dunn’s existing staff of 178, Dunn Executive Vice President Greg Howe said in a phone interview. The East Hartford plant has about 100 workers.

Dunn has no plans to change the operations or staffing at the five plants, including the one in East Hartford, Howe said. The move allows Dunn Paper to offer customers a wide range of products to customers, he said. Geographically, it also allows the company to print paper closer to its customers.

Dunn Paper sells its products to paper-converting companies that then print and sell finished products, such as labels and wrappers, Howe said. The company began in 1924 and makes a wide array of paper that is converted into labels, wraps and food-service paper products, including wax-coated paper, sandwich wraps, heat-seal pouches, fire-log wraps, specialty napkins, soap wraps, beverage labels, candy wrappers, coffee bags and other products.

The five former Clearwater Paper mills have include nine paper machines with more than 200,000 tons of production capacity, according to the companies.