LOUISIANA (From news reports) -- International Paper is set to invest $52 million in their Bogalusa Paper Mill.
The company looks to increase efficiency at the mill, which has called Washington Parish home for more than a hundred years. International Paper already employs 492 workers with average annual salary of $86,000 in Bogalusa. The company operates a paper mill and corrugated box plant on the site. It plans to upgrade its recovery boiler system, filtration, condenser and acid system used in the papermaking process.
"We congratulate International Paper for improving the competitiveness of its Bogalusa Mill and for investing in the future of IP employees in Louisiana," Governor Edwards said. "This commitment to Bogalusa and Washington Parish represents a significant project win for our entire state and reinforces the great strength of Louisiana's forest products sector."
The latest project plan would bring International Paper's investment in capital upgrades at the Bogalusa Mill to $487 million since the company purchased the Washington Parish site in a 2012 acquisition of Temple-Inland Inc.
Since making an initial $44 million capital investment in crane and wood-chipping technology in 2012, International Paper has increased the number of direct employees in its Bogalusa workforce from 411 to 492, a nearly 20 percent gain.
"We are fortunate to have International Paper - one of the world's leading producers of renewable, fiber-based packaging, pulp and paper - as an industrial citizen in Washington Parish," said Parish President Richard Thomas Jr. "International Paper's forward-thinking vision for modernization is the reason they have remained stalwarts in our community. Their continued commitment to investing in upgrades has allowed the competitive production necessary to maintain a stabilized workforce. The economic impact of International Paper is very important not just to the City of Bogalusa but to the livelihood of our parish. Additionally, and just as important as their economic impact is the generosity of their employee-giving, which has always played a key role in the fabric of the progress and well-being of our community."
"This announcement ensures that International Paper will remain a world-class facility and a leading employer for Washington Parish," said President and CEO Michael Hecht of Greater New Orleans Inc.
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