Fusion Paperboard planning to upgrade its paperboard mill in Versailles, Connecticut, in June by replacing press equipment, could receive state subsidized, US$3M low-interest loan for the project, add 20 jobs

Debra Garcia

LOS ANGELES , February 20, 2013 (Industry Intelligence Inc.) – Fusion Paperboard Connecticut LLC is looking to upgrade its paperboard mill in Versailles, Connecticut, in June by replacing equipment in the press section, with the possible help of state aid, The Bulletin reported Feb. 17.

Fusion COO Ghislain Levesque called the investment “the most important” for a single project at the Connecticut mill, which manufactures InverKote and IverFreez grades of paperboard from 100% recycled fibers. The company also has a converting plant in Hebron, Kentucky.

The mill has more than 150 employees, and the upgrade could add 20 more jobs. The project should take approximately a month to finish, The Bulletin reported.

The State Bond Commission is expected to allocate a US$3 million loan for the project at a 3% interest over the next decade. State legislators are also willing to reduce the total price by $500,000 if the company hires 20 new employees and retains them for a year.

Los Angeles-based equity firm Opengate Capital acquired the Versailles mill and Hebron boxboard plant in June 2011 from Cascades Inc. and has operated the sites under the unified name of Fusion Paperboard, according to a company press release.

The region around Sprague, Connecticut, was hit when Caraustar Industries Inc. closed in January 2011, putting 82 people out of work, The Bulletin reported.

The primary source of this article is The Bulletin, Norwich, Connecticut, on Feb. 17, 2013.

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