Cascades, Inc., a green packaging company, announced Tuesday that it produced its first roll of 100 percent recycled containerboard at its facility in Bear Island, Va.
The facility has an annual production capacity of 465,000 short tons of lightweight, high-quality, 100 percent recycled containerboard. The state-of-the-art mill created 700 jobs during construction and is on target to create 180 permanent jobs when commercial production begins. The company said the mill is equipped to perform “within the top quartile of its industry” and will strengthen the operational flexibility of Cascades’ Containerboard, as well as its geographic footprint and competitiveness.
“After the commissioning of the Greenpac mill nearly 10 years ago, the start-up of Bear Island marks another historic milestone in the strategic modernization of our mill network,” Mario Plourde, Cascades president and CEO, said. “More than ever, Cascades has modern and competitive assets that will allow us to pursue long-term growth in packaging on a North American scale.”
With the Bear Island mill ramping up its production, the facility will gradually increase production until it reaches full capacity, the company said.
“Cascades would like to thank all its employees and partners who made this project possible, a feat made even more challenging given the difficult global context of supply chain issues,” Charles Malo, president and chief operating officer of Cascades Containerboard Packaging.
“This project was the second largest in Cascades’ history, and we are very proud to have successfully converted this plant into a state-of-the-art mill that will allow Cascades to grow our market share and enhance service and our portfolio of sustainable solutions for our customers.”