Florelle Tissue adds North Country Alliance to list of financial backers as principals work to win public agency support for US$4.1M restart of dormant Brownville, New York, paper mill

Wendy Lisney

LOS ANGELES , September 26, 2011 (Forestweb) – The North Country Alliance (NCA) has become the latest public agency to support Florelle Tissue Corporation's effort to open a site that includes a paper machine and converter in the village of Brownville, New York, the Watertown Daily Times reported Sept. 23.

The US$4.1 million project involves purchasing a former Brownville Specialty Paper Products Inc. mill and installing paper manufacturing machinery. Florelle plans to be operating at full capacity by February, creating 50 jobs.

The NCA's board agreed on Sept. 21 to grant a loan of US$125,000 loan to the startup, although Florelle had requested $225,000.

The project has also won the backing of the Jefferson County Industrial Development Agency (JCIDA), which has awarded a $350,000 loan. In addition, the Jefferson County Local Development Corporation approved a $100,000 grant, which will allow the startup to access a further $250,000 loan from the state’s Community Development Block Grant program, the Daily Times reported.

The project has also secured a $250,000 loan from the Development Authority of the North Country, plus a grant of $250,000 from the state’s Empire State Development Corp which includes the provision of having 75 jobs after three years.

Further support will come from the New York Power Authority, which has pledged to supply low-cost power.

JCIDA deputy CEO David Zembiec said he and other Florelle principals had been working together to win support for the project from public agencies. They now plan to approach the Adirondack Economic Development Corp. for a $200,000 loan.

The company's leaders are also waiting for approval and a commercial loan closing from the state Division of Housing and Community Renewal, and can not spend any money until that approval has been granted. The closing is expected before the end of this month, said Zembiec.

The primary source of this article is the Watertown Daily Times, Watertown, New York on Sept. 23, 2011.

* All content is copyrighted by Industry Intelligence, or the original respective author or source. You may not recirculate, redistrubte or publish the analysis and presentation included in the service without Industry Intelligence's prior written consent. Please review our terms of use.