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ISSUE FOCUS: ENGINEERING/PAPER MACHINE REBUILDS
At Interstate Paper's Riceboro, Ga., linerboard mill, a new topwire former and soft calender have improved quality and attracted new customers, fueling a corporate expansion plan
BENEFITING FROM THE LONG-- term approach of its private owners, Interstate Paper LLC (IPQ in Riceboro, Ga., has seen a variety of recent improvements targeted at positioning the mill as a quality- and customer-focused producer of linerboard. Since 1998, IPC's parent company, Interstate Resources Inc. (IRl), has invested $51.7 million in the Riceboro facility, with upgrades ranging from the chip mill to the linerboard machine. All of the improvements have been focused on improving the quality of the mill's sheet as opposed to adding capacity.
The mill's most recent upgrade was the $7.6-million rebuild of its 270,000-- tpy kraft linerboard machine to include a topwire former and a soft nip calender. Since the April 2002 startup, these upgrades have achieved the intended goals of improving smoothness and uniformity, as well as increasing density of the sheet.
IRI, a privately held company owned by the Frem family and supported by an independent board of directors, is a manufacturer of containerboard and corrugated packaging products headquartered in Arlington, Va. The company owns two mills-a 140,000-tpy recycled corrugating medium mill in Reading, Pa., and the Riceboro mill. It also owns or partners in six converting plants located on the East Coast. IPC is about 45% integrated, with the rest of the tonnage marketed to independent converters through a sales force that has grown with a new corporate strategy and focus on quality (see sidebar, pg. 34).
"Our quality was acceptable, but not consistent, and we wanted to be a better supplier to the independent marketplace," says IRI president and chief operating officer, Charles Feghali. "We knew that improving linerboard quality was paramount to the success of Interstate Paper, and we've invested millions of dollars during a tough market because the owners believe in this business. With the new former and calender, we plan to make a product of superior quality-in the top quartile of the industry."
IRI is looking for opportunities to expand further in the Midwest, says Feghali. Such expansion plans are part of the company strategically positioning itself through improved quality and...