Red Shield may start up again (Old Town, Calais: 2009, credit, homes)

[forest beekeeper]

Maine's Red Shield restart hailed - Boston.com

Old Town Fuel & Fiber [now called 'Red Shield'] is restarting its pulp facility.

Expected to put 90 workers back on the job, with an expected total of 170 workers to be employed in coming weeks.

[reloop]

Originally Posted by forest beekeeper

Maine's Red Shield restart hailed - Boston.com

Old Town Fuel & Fiber [now called 'Red Shield'] is restarting its pulp facility.

Expected to put 90 workers back on the job, with an expected total of 170 workers to be employed in coming weeks.

I really, truly hope they can keep it up and running - fingers crossed there.
Verso paper is shutting down for 2 weeks. That makes me a little nervous to be honest. They seem to have bucked the trend for longer than I thought they would.

[Casper1212]

I've had people around Calais tell me that the paper mill in Baileyville is going to close, but a couple of people said they've been saying that for years. Hope the latter is right. It's bad enough to live in a place where the economy is bad. But it's downright heartbreaking to live in a place where people are willing to work and there are no jobs. We have our share of freeloaders, but most people would rather work and are constantly looking for odd jobs to pick up extra cash.

[Maine Writer]

Originally Posted by Casper1212

I've had people around Calais tell me that the paper mill in Baileyville is going to close, but a couple of people said they've been saying that for years.

It's been closing since the day before it opened. We moved here 18 years ago when Steve was hired to be the MAP forester. He's been a lot of things between then and now. He's a procurement forester (wood buyer) now. OSB and paper have closed since we moved here. Pulp is open and running.

Here's the scoop. The wood buyers (Steve and a Canadian man) stopped buying wood almost two weeks ago. There is enough inventory on the complex and stored in wood yards around the region to run the mill until shut down in April. Steve's on his monthly inventory run between here and Ashland today.

What happens after that is everyone's guess. It's only guesses and lots of rumors. Until the economy straightens out and customers get their letters of credit back it makes no sense to make pulp. There isn't an order to close the mill.

Hope the latter is right. It's bad enough to live in a place where the economy is bad. But it's downright heartbreaking to live in a place where people are willing to work and there are no jobs. We have our share of freeloaders, but most people would rather work and are constantly looking for odd jobs to pick up extra cash.

It employs approximately 300 people right now. When OSB and paper went down the employees were given very nice severance packages. They had the option of retraining, unemployment and more. What was offered varied between union and salary and the length of employment and whether the mill was owned by GP or Domtar at the time. I don't know anyone personally who isn't working or in college unless they'd rather be unemployed. I don't know what happens when you add 300 unemployed people to the area. If people are smart they're putting together Plan B or C. We've eliminated our B and are working on C now, just in case. We can live off my income so we're not as bad off as many might be. After decades of "the mill is closing" it won't catch anyone off guard if it happens. This mill has been making a profit, it has a great safety record and has other advantages. We'll see what March brings.

[BoundtofindME]

Originally Posted by Maine Writer

It's been closing since the day before it opened. We moved here 18 years ago when Steve was hired to be the MAP forester. He's been a lot of things between then and now. He's a procurement forester (wood buyer) now. OSB and paper have closed since we moved here. Pulp is open and running.

Here's the scoop. The wood buyers (Steve and a Canadian man) stopped buying wood almost two weeks ago. There is enough inventory on the complex and stored in wood yards around the region to run the mill until shut down in April. Steve's on his monthly inventory run between here and Ashland today.

What happens after that is everyone's guess. It's only guesses and lots of rumors. Until the economy straightens out and customers get their letters of credit back it makes no sense to make pulp. There isn't an order to close the mill.

It employs approximately 300 people right now. When OSB and paper went down the employees were given very nice severance packages. They had the option of retraining, unemployment and more. What was offered varied between union and salary and the length of employment and whether the mill was owned by GP or Domtar at the time. I don't know anyone personally who isn't working or in college unless they'd rather be unemployed. I don't know what happens when you add 300 unemployed people to the area. If people are smart they're putting together Plan B or C. We've eliminated our B and are working on C now, just in case. We can live off my income so we're not as bad off as many might be. After decades of "the mill is closing" it won't catch anyone off guard if it happens. This mill has been making a profit, it has a great safety record and has other advantages. We'll see what March brings.

Plan B or C -- very near the top of the list of survival skills that Mainers are already known to possess. I have lots of relatives that worked for years at the Old Town mill, and during the last Red Shield layoff, they were fortunate to have planned for what was happening far in advance by not falling victim to living high off the hog to begin with. They wanted to make sure their homes and vehicles were paid off long before retirement and worked diligently for years to make this happen, just in case. Some of them took advantage of the retraining and picked up new skills which is always a good thing. Since being back in Maine, I really have come to appreciate this way of life, as it is very new to me, but I embrace it wholeheartedly as the most meaningful phase of my life thus far . . . and I am no spring chicken. . .