Nippon Paper's Port Angeles, Washington, paper mill shut down due to problems with its cogeneration plant, says union official, who expects planned two weeks of maintenance work to conclude about March 9

Debra Garcia

LOS ANGELES , February 28, 2014 (Industry Intelligence Inc.) –

Nippon Paper Industries USA has idled its paper mill in Port Angeles, Washington, due to fuel-system problems with the cogeneration power plant, said a union official, the Peninsula Daily News reported.

The newsprint and directory paper mill’s 20-megawatt biomass cogeneration plant was expanded last year.

To maintain steam production at the mill, an electric boiler is operating, said Darrel Reetz, vice president of the Association of Western Pulp & Paper Workers.

Nearly 119 workers have been laid off.

Spring downtime had tentatively been scheduled for March or April, to work on the mill’s secondary clarifier, said Reetz, reported the Peninsula Daily News.

The maintenance work should be completed around March 9, he said, noting that preparations for the two-week curtailment began Feb. 18 and were finished last weekend.

Harold Norlund, the mill’s manager, did not return phone calls from the Peninsula Daily News seeking comment on the shutdown.

The primary source of this article is the Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles, Washington, on Feb. 27, 2014.

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