Tennessee Economic and Community Development Commissioner Bill Hagerty along with Resolute Forest Products U.S., Inc. officials announced the company will invest $105 million in equipment and building improvements at its Calhoun, Tenn. pulp and paper mill. Resolute Forest Products, a top global paper products manufacturer, is one of McMinn County’s largest employers. Upon completion of the project, the company will create 25 new jobs over the next five years.
“For more than 50 years, Resolute Forest Products has had a thriving presence in East Tennessee which can be felt far beyond the borders of our state,” Hagerty said. “Tennessee’s global momentum is fueled by companies that extend their brand on a worldwide scale, and with customers in nearly 100 countries, Resolute is one of those companies. I appreciate the company’s decision to further expand and invest in Calhoun, and for the jobs that will be created for our citizens.”
Resolute Forest Products is a global leader in the forest products industry with a diverse range of products, including newsprint, specialty papers, market pulp and wood products. The company owns or operates more than 40 pulp and paper mills and wood products facilities in the United States, Canada and South Korea, and power generation assets in Canada.
The project will support the acquisition of a modern continuous pulp digester and other equipment to process wood chips. Other investments will be made on paper machine equipment which will allow for the strategic shift to a white paper grade mix and help the operation fully utilize its pulp dryer capacity.
Resolute Forest Products’ Calhoun mill, established in 1954 as one of the earliest newsprint mills in the southern United States, is located on the Hiwassee River in Calhoun, Tenn. The paper mill is one of the largest in North America as a result of continued expansion and investments, and employs a workforce of more than 500 people.