International Paper Ticonderoga mill announces annual outage
August 18, 2020
TICONDEROGA, N.Y. (From news reports) -- International Paper has announced an upcoming annual outage of its mill in Ticonderoga to perform necessary inspections and maintenance, according to a press release.
It is anticipated that the outage, a coordinated undertaking that has already been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, will take place this fall.
"Protecting the health and safety of our employees, contractors and community is our most important responsibility," said Timothy Stocker, Mill Manager. "During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ticonderoga Mill has implemented COVID-19 risk abatement practices in accordance with the Center for Disease Control, Essex County Department of Health, New York State advisories, orders and regulations, and the International Paper Pandemic Advisory Team."
The mill originally scheduled the 2020 outage to take place in the spring, but it was then postponed and rescheduled for August 31 to September 22 due to COVID-19.
"With the ongoing COVID-19 situation and travel advisory for people traveling into New York State from restricted states, we have decided to scale back the outage to only include critical work and repairs that cannot be postponed further," Stocker said. "In taking this approach, we estimate a 40 to 50 percent reduction in days needed and contractors required to complete the outage."
Ticonderoga Mill will communicate the dates for the reduced outage when they are finalized with the mill team and contractors.
Contractors coming to the mill from states listed on the New York State Travel Advisory list will be required to comply with the Interim Guidance for Quarantine Restrictions on Travelers Arriving in New York State Following Out of State Travel.
Stocker is confident in the mill team to carry out a safe and successful outage, saying, "We want to maintain the community's trust and support and we strive to be as transparent as possible with our plans for this annual undertaking".
