Shuttered Hoquiam paper mill set to reopen
»Play Video
HOQUIAM, Wash. -- A shuttered Grays Harbor paper mill is coming back to life, and unemployed residents already lining up for the nearly 200 new job.
The Grays Harbor Paper Mill closed more than a year ago, but the business didn't completely shut down. The machines were kept in running order in hopes of reopening the mill.
John Begley is the new president and CEO of the what his now called Harbor Papers, which just announced a new $4.2 million deal to reopen the mill.
"It's a pretty good feeling. It was a long, long road, but it felt pretty good," Begley said.
When the mill closed down in May 2010, 230 employees became unemployed. Now the company's putting out a call to hire 175 new workers.
Many of the laid-off workers are vying for new jobs, as are many other locals.
"I worked a 12-hour shift last night and my wife woke me up and said, 'Hey, the paper mill is hiring.' So I threw some water in my face and headed right over here to apply for it," said Frank Church, who is applying for one of the new jobs.
The reopening couldn't have come at a better time, either. Grays Harbor County has 13-percent unemployment, and many within the community believe the reopening signals a long-awaited turn in the right direction.
"That this is the sign that things are going to get better," said Worksource manager Mike Michener.
The new mill will produce copier paper from recycled material, and officials say it will operate leaner than the old mill. One of the big changes this time around is the lack of administrative offices in front, and many managers will spend their days walking the floors.
"It's very rewarding," Begley said.
The mill had gone into receivership and the new owners say they were offered a price they just couldn't pass up. The first new hires will be on the job in a matter of weeks, and paper will be rolling out of the plant in 45 days.
The Grays Harbor Paper Mill closed more than a year ago, but the business didn't completely shut down. The machines were kept in running order in hopes of reopening the mill.
John Begley is the new president and CEO of the what his now called Harbor Papers, which just announced a new $4.2 million deal to reopen the mill.
"It's a pretty good feeling. It was a long, long road, but it felt pretty good," Begley said.
When the mill closed down in May 2010, 230 employees became unemployed. Now the company's putting out a call to hire 175 new workers.
Many of the laid-off workers are vying for new jobs, as are many other locals.
"I worked a 12-hour shift last night and my wife woke me up and said, 'Hey, the paper mill is hiring.' So I threw some water in my face and headed right over here to apply for it," said Frank Church, who is applying for one of the new jobs.
The reopening couldn't have come at a better time, either. Grays Harbor County has 13-percent unemployment, and many within the community believe the reopening signals a long-awaited turn in the right direction.
"That this is the sign that things are going to get better," said Worksource manager Mike Michener.
The new mill will produce copier paper from recycled material, and officials say it will operate leaner than the old mill. One of the big changes this time around is the lack of administrative offices in front, and many managers will spend their days walking the floors.
"It's very rewarding," Begley said.
The mill had gone into receivership and the new owners say they were offered a price they just couldn't pass up. The first new hires will be on the job in a matter of weeks, and paper will be rolling out of the plant in 45 days.
FANTASTIC! its about time there was some GOOD news for the Harbor...its been smacked again and again since the assault on the timber industry started in the 1980s. Recycling is a good thing, making useful business/consumer products instead of landfilling the paper is a great thing!
So... when do the Teamsters Local #252 show up? Hey, I'm just askin'.
Â
Â
Sssssssshhhh!
Â
Don't tell T BONE WALKER - he can't stand good economic news. Don't you know its just all media manipulation.
Â
Mesh down below (or up above depending on your reading order) has nailed it. The growing demand for paper products from China and India is where this stuff is gone - complements of cheap Canadian soft wood and a weak US dollar making foreign export viable.
Â
Hey, that's OK - its jobs - in an area that needs it really bad.
Â
Now the nutters can post complaints about anyone making more than $10 an hour in the "unskilled labor" roles of a paper plant.
Funny this is, all that paper is going to go onto cargo ships straight to china and india.
Better leaving the US for China, than coming in, wouldn't you say?
Good news. That area is so economically depressed (and depressing because of it). Hope more businesses sprout up.
They really need an economic boost down there. Aberdeen and Hoqium used to be bustling towns until the lumber industry was assaulted. I thought the Governor said she was going to help that area.
Woo hoo! Â Finally, some GOOD news!
This is great news, I hope the workers that were laid off get are hired back.
"The Grays Harbor Paper Mill closed more than a year ago, but the business didn't completely shut down. The machines were kept in running order in hopes of reopening the mill."
Â
What the heck does THAT mean? The boilers were kept under fire, the calenders and dryers were kept in operation and such? Somehow I doubt it.
 @Furd It means exactly what it says, they "were kept in running order." In other words, someone kept everything oiled and intact so that the machines could be run again.Â
Â
If your car is in running order, it doesn't have to be constantly running, it just is in a condition where you could run out and start it whenever you please. Same goes for a mill.
 @Fairlane500 Ah, there goes my credibility along with showing my lack of reading skills. Honestly, I did not see the word "order" either in my original reading or when I posted the verbatim quotation. Thank you for the correction to my addled brain.
 @Woodswalker HEY! I was in a junior high journalism class and we were MUCH better than some of the crap on KOMO.
@Kodiak That is asking a lot of the Jr High Journalism class.... Just Sayin'.
@Furd @Fairlane500 Even when the old KC paper mill had shut downs, some parts of the machines never stopped. If Komo could actually write a story they could explain just a tad more detail it would be helpful for people to understand.