OLD TOWN, Maine (AP) -- About 160 former employees of an idle pulp and paper mill in Old Town will soon be going back to work now that the court-approved sale of the facility has been made official.
About 400 workers lost their jobs when Georgia-Pacific Corp. shut down the paper mill in 2006. Red Shield Environmental then acquired the mill and resumed pulp production, but laid off 160 workers and filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June after experiencing sharp increases in the cost of fuel and materials.
The new owner, Patriarch Partners, is now calling former employees back to work. A week and a half ago, the New York investment group made the winning $19 million bid for the property.
Human resources manager Dan Bird said the first employees will return as soon as Friday, with the first pulp dryer scheduled to be up and running by Nov. 14.
