Canadian Paper Plant To Invest In $600M Factory In Georgia, Hire 100 Additional Workers

Irving Tissue, a Canadian paper company, announced on Nov. 21 that they would be spending $600 million to expand production at its paper mill in Macon, Georgia, including hiring 100 additional workers.

Irving Tissue, a Canadian paper company, announced on Nov. 21 that it would spend $600 million to expand production at its paper mill in Macon, Georgia, including plans to hire 100 additional workers.

Marc Doucette, Irving Tissue’s vice president of communications, told The Associated Press that the expansion was necessary because the plant had maxed out its current capability to produce paper goods.

“We’ve had tremendous success in Macon, and with the plant currently sold out, this is the right plant for the expansion,” Doucette said in an emailed statement.

The mill’s expansion includes an automated warehouse and new converting lines to convert tissue into paper products.

The wood pulp to supply the extra paper machine will come from the company’s paper mill in Saint John, New Brunswick.

The warehouse is expected to be ready by 2026, while the paper machine is scheduled to be completed in 2027.

Currently, the plant can produce 165,000 tons of tissue per year, but when the expansions are complete, that number will increase to 248,000 tons per year.

According to MBCIA, Macon’s population is approximately 54% Black, and the average income in Macon-Bibb County, Georgia, where Macon is located, was $41,334 as of 2019.

Workers make between $22 and over $30 an hour at the factory, which works out to a yearly salary of approximately $45,760 to over $62,400 for the highest earners.

Georgia’s state income tax credit system allows Irving to earn up to $2 million in state income tax credits.

As long as workers make over $35,600 a year, the company could earn as much as $4,000 per position over the next five years in state income tax credits, and the company could also receive property tax breaks and other incentives.

According to Doucette, the company is in talks with officials about creating tax abatements and other benefits for the company.

According to a press release, Robert K. Irving, the company’s president, indicated that the expansion was good news for the company’s workforce.

“I am very pleased to announce our Phase 3 expansion at Irving Tissue Macon. The $600 million (USD) investment will add another 100 jobs and include a third ThruAir Dry paper-making machine, additional converting lines, and a new fully automated warehouse.”

Irving continued, “It’s another great day for our employees, customers, Irving Tissue, and J.D. Irving. On top of the growth in Macon, this investment will also provide growth in our home region of the northeast—Maine and New Brunswick. Pulp will be supplied from our pulp mill in Saint John, which in turn is supplied from the six million acres we sustainably own or manage. Our fully integrated value chain ensures certainty of supply, exceptional service, and quality, as well as sustainable products for our customers. We are proud of the fact we have planted over one billion trees since 1957 and that these trees are now providing us with the opportunity for growth across our value chain, including in our sawmills, pulp mill, and tissue manufacturing plants like Macon.”