GP Announces $110 million investment at Alabama River cellulose

Georgia-Pacific announced plans for $110 million in upgrades to its Alabama River Cellulose (ARC) mill. The investments include replacing one of the mill’s two existing wood yards that process incoming logs, upgrading the other wood yard and a major upgrade to one of the mill’s machines that produce pulp.

The formal announcement was made today at the mill by Jim Hannan, CEO and president of Georgia-Pacific, alongside Governor Robert Bentley, to an audience of employees, local and state leaders, key stakeholders and media.

The investment in ARC follows more than $2.2 billion invested by Georgia-Pacific across Alabama in the last 10 years. The ARC project will allow the mill to better serve customer needs, stay competitive in a challenging industry, preserve jobs for Alabama residents and provide ongoing support to the local and state community. In fact, this $110 million investment further secures the mill’s estimated $200 million contribution to the local economy through payroll, direct purchases and taxes, as well as indirectly through products and services purchased by employees.

Work on the project is slated to begin early next year, and construction is expected to require approximately 65 people per day for 18 months.

“We are pleased to announce this major investment at Alabama River Cellulose,” said Hannan. “This reflects our company’s strong commitment to our cellulose business, to the global competitiveness of skilled Georgia-Pacific employees, to the states that understand the value we create and to the support of the communities where we operate. We look forward to the full support of this community and this state for our company and operations here.”

In the picture: Left to right, CEO and President of Georgia-Pacific Jim Hannan, Alabama Governor Robert Bentley, and Alabama River Cellulose Vice President of Operations Tim McIlwain.