ST. FRANCISVILLE, La. (AP) — The purchase of the Renew Paper mill near St. Francisville is official, but no decision has been made on restarting the plant, a plant official says.
The $10 million sale was approved last month by a federal bankruptcy judge in Baton Rouge.
West Feliciana Acquisition LLC, which is in bankruptcy reorganization, sold the 455,000-square-foot mill and 610 acres to Amzak Capital Management LLC of Florida. Last year, Amzak helped finance WFA's failed attempt to operate the former Tembec Inc. mill.
A staff of about 14 is maintaining the plant as the future use of the mill is being studied, mill manager Allen Byrd said Tuesday.
"Everything's still under evaluation," he said. "The checklist of things to do is quite long and the new owners have been deeply involved in that."
Amzak's bid documents filed in court said the company intended to eventually employ 150 to 200 workers as production increased. Renew Paper had employed up to 200 in the months leading up to the bankruptcy filing in January, which followed That a $46 million dispute over renovations with contractor Fluor Enterprises Inc.
When Canada-based Tembec closed the mill in 2007, it employed 540.
