JAY, Maine (From news reports) -- JGT2 Redevelopment, which plans to buy the defunct Pixelle Specialty Solutions paper mill on Riley Road, its properties and the 1,000 acres it sits on, is hoping to close on the property by the end of the year, Tony McDonald, a lead partner with JGT2, said Friday.
The pulp and paper mill formally ceased operations in March. The remaining industrial equipment is being decommissioned. The cogeneration facility is idled but remains operational.
"There are a lot of positive things going on," McDonald said. "We really can't complete or confirm them until we own the property."
"Pixelle announced back in February that it engaged a third party called, Can-Am Machinery, to assist in locating a buyer for the mill in Jay, Maine. Can-Am is a leading dealer of used equipment for the pulp and paper industry," Heath Frye, Pixelle's director of marketing, wrote in an email. "That process is still ongoing. As a result, Pixelle does not have any additional comments at this time."
Pixelle employs six people to maintain operations and oversee decommission activities. The company is selling the paper machines and the related equipment.
"There are no current plans to continue manufacturing paper at the mill," McDonald said.
JGT2 Redevelopment plans to redevelop the mill and cogeneration facility to other industrial uses. It proposes to restart the cogeneration plant to produce power to sell to the grid while redeveloping the properties associated with the former mill.
"We hope to purchase the mill (and property) by the end of the year," he said. "No earlier than November, no later than Dec. 31."
Business terms have all been negotiated and agreed upon. Lawyers are working through the process.
The DEP is reviewing JGT2's application to transfer Pixelle's Maine environmental permits. Some of the permits related to the natural-gas fire cogeneration plant, which the company also plans to buy, will be reviewed by a federal government agency.
JGT2 will also be working to close two active landfills and to do what is necessary, if anything, on a third landfill on the site that is closed. There are a variety of permits that will need to be transferred for air, solid waste, wastewater and stormwater.
Additionally, it is considering resizing the wastewater treatment system to match the new industrial uses for the facility. It proposes to restart the cogeneration plant to produce power to sell to the grid while redeveloping the properties associated with the former mill.
"We are looking forward to successfully redeveloping the mill," McDonald said.
The Kansas company initials stand for the town of Jay and the first names of partners Greg Schain of New Hampshire, Tom Murray of Kansas and Tony McDonald. The "2" stands for the two T initials, McDonald said.
Schain and Murray are partners in New Mill Capital, which is not new to Maine. It worked to redevelop the Madison paper mill, which is now TimberHP in Madison, and the former Hostess commercial bakery site in Biddeford, that is now a FedEx distribution center, he said.
