Coated Paper

Verso announces the closure of the Wickliffe Paper Mill

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Verso Corporation has announced the closure of its US paper mill based in Wickliffe, Kentucky. The site has been idle since November 2015 because of continuous and accelerated decline in the demand of coated paper products and a significant volume of imports due to the strength of the dollar compared with foreign currencies. The Wickliffe paper mill is equipped with a papermaking machine that can produce, on a yearly basis, up to 285,000 tons of coated freesheet, specialty papers and uncoated paper as well as 30,000 tons of dry pulp.

«After an exhaustive, but ultimately unsuccessful effort to find a buyer of our Wickliffe Mill – states David J. Paterson, the company’s Chairman and CEO – Verso has made the difficult decision to close the facility. A handful of potential buyers expressed interest in purchasing and continuing operation the mill, but either offered an unrealistically low price or ultimately chose not to pursue the purchase».

The decision to close the Wickliffe Mill is aligned with Verso’s long-held commitment to balance the supply of its products with customers’ demand for them.