A new U.S.-based mill producing graphic board (a type of cover board made with specific fibers) is up and running after several months of preparations. The Newark Group Inc., manufacturer of recycled paperboard, invested more than $100 million to fit a Fitchburgh, Mass., mill that it purchased last fall for producing graphic board for its Graphicboard Products BCI division.
Company officials say the mill is the only producer of graphic board in the United States. The company invested in the mill so it could offer a full range of thicknesses of its NewEx brand of graphic board product at an annual production rate of 90,000 tons.
"When we [began operating the mill] there were only certain calipers [of the product] available," says Ed Boutet, VP of marketing of the Newark Group Inc. "Now we have the full spectrum of calipers available [to our customers]."
Prior to the opening of the Fitchburgh mill, graphic board material was imported to the United States and converted for use as cover board material, Boutet says. When the Fitchburgh mill is combined with the company's worldwide production, the Newark Group will be the second largest producer of graphic board next to Kappa Graphic Board of the Netherlands, Boutet says.
www.NewarkGroup.com