Wausau Paper is investing $220 million to expand its plant in Harrodsburg, where it has produced towel and tissue paper products since 1990.
The expansion is part of the company’s response to growing demand for “green products” and will involve the installation of a paper machine that will produce approximately 75,000 tons of towel and tissue products per year.
Wausau President and CEO Thomas J. Howatt said the new machinery will give the plant the capability to produce green products at a quality level that is comparable to the best virgin-fiber products on the market today. Howatt said Wausau’s tissue segment has been its best performing business over the last decade and that this latest investment will serve to accelerate that growth and profitability.
Since the company introduced its Green Seal-certified line of products in 2003, it has grown to more than half of the Wausau’s total towel and tissue volume. As a result, the company has outlined a plan to double the revenue and operating profit of its tissue segment over the next five to seven years, with the Harrodsburg investment serving as a cornerstone of that strategy.
Construction is scheduled to start this summer and operations are expected to begin in the first quarter of 2013.
The expansion will add 76 new jobs to Wausau’s existing staff of 397.
The Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority preliminarily approved Wausau Paper for tax incentives of up to $6 million through the Kentucky Business Investment program. The performance-based incentive allows the company to keep a portion of its investment over a 10-year period through corporate income tax credits and wage assessments by meeting job and investment targets.
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