Rumford Branch, RUPO / PORU

newpylong wrote: ↑Tue Sep 20, 2022 8:37 pm Could ND run a pulp shuttle from Rumford or do they already have excess paper capacity there?

For a while in 2020 RUPO was running with a head end block of pulp to be set off at the Pixelle mill in Jay. But then Pixelle started buying pulp from Saint John and also shipping from other sources. They were buying pulp on the spot market so Transportation costs varied. Rumford to Jay was the lowest transportation cost. But that doesn't mean that ND Paper sold them pulp at a discount.

CN9634 wrote: ↑Wed Sep 21, 2022 9:02 pm The real questions are would Pixelle be willing to sell it and for how much…

Early intel says that Pixelle doesn't want to sell to another paper company. If someone would have to put a good number on the table and commit to making grades that don't compete with their offerings to get them off that stance. There are other industrial users interested. It is going to be interesting to see how this one plays out.

It's been pretty common practice over time for companies to buy competitors and then close
those facilities. It removes both competition and capacity which ends up bolstering prices, at
the same time acquiring the intellectual property, product line. and branding of the former
competitor. IP and Kimberly-Clark (think Scott Paper at Winslow) both did quite a bit of this
in the 80's and 90's. Pixelle doesn't want to sell the mill to another company producing the
same product which means the buyer would need to produce something different, so there
is the prospect of more expense involved in making some sort of conversion of the plant.

newpylong wrote:H.I.G. owns my company too, that stinks.

Chances of someone else like ND scooping it up?

I doubt it. ND is primarily focused on the production of pulp for the mills they own overseas. Why add another paper mill with no pulp production that is going to eat into your exports?

NYC27 wrote: ↑Thu Sep 22, 2022 1:43 pm
Early intel says that Pixelle doesn't want to sell to another paper company. If someone would have to put a good number on the table and commit to making grades that don't compete with their offerings to get them off that stance. There are other industrial users interested. It is going to be interesting to see how this one plays out.

I just hope "other industrial users" doesn't mean a server farm or marijuana processing...That seems to be the trend for some other legacy industrial sites in the state.

Those two uses would be unfortunate for the railroad but probably better for the people of Jay in terms of long term stability for workers and the town's tax base.

Other than papermaking or something involving forest products or biofuels, it's hard to think of any other uses that would make sense in that location and require freight rail service.

I guess that whole "Torrefied Wood" idea was a bust.

https://www.bangordailynews.com/2013/10 ... ax-breaks/

Yep, more vaporware from the forest fuels people.

Per the Rumford Area Historical Society Facebook page, the old roundhouse at the ND mill was demolished today.

Was told one of the paper machines in Jay was being disassembled for an overseas buyer. Another person told me one of the machines was going to be running 4 weeks? after the expected closing date of the mill.

Androscoggin Mill has three paper machines but Pixelle has only been running two. Feasible to say maybe they are selling out the third un-used machine. Two other machines will run (at least for now) through April.

https://www.wmtw.com/article/rumford-ma ... s/60276795

Adam Bartow wrote: RUMFORD, Maine —
ND Paper says it is making some changes to its mill in Rumford due to "challenging market conditions."

The company tells Maine's Total Coverage that these changes will result in some downtime for one of the machines at the mill, affecting about 100 employees while the machine is down.

another nail in the coffin for the Rumford Branch. With Jay gone and Rumford running on borrowed time....My money is on the branch being a rail trail by decade's end.