Officials with International Paper made the decision Friday to convert the Louisiana Mill to a new product line and preserve jobs for over 500 employees.

Jean-Michel Ribieras, IP's vice president-converting papers and product, called mill manager Greg VanVoorhis that afternoon and gave him the good news. Jokingly, he also told VanVoorhis to stay out of the public eye until the announcement was made yesterday. Ribieras was afraid the grin on VanVoorhis' face might give away the company's decision.

"This is the most important day of my 31-year career," VanVoorhis said in making the announcement.

Two years ago, IP announced a plan to restructure the company. Part of the package was consideration given to closing the Louisiana Mill. During a trip to Bastrop, Ribieras said employees pledged to make any decision on closing the mill a tough one. Ribieras said the employees' efforts "really made the decision easy." The mill set company and industry standards for safety. They increased efficiency and customer service ratings.

"You are a role model for our company," Ribieras told employees Tuesday.

The company will invest $10 million to convert the plant from manufacturing uncoated freesheet, used in office paper and envelopes, as well as other specialty papers. Instead it will have the capacity to make up to 450,000 tons per year of primarily softwood pulp, used in tissue, towels, paper and packaging, as well as fluff pulp, used in diapers and personal hygiene products.

Last week, over 400 union employees voted to accept a wage concession package offered by the company. Over the next 30 months, employees will see a six percent reduction in wages. Another part of the package is the elimination of roughly 75 positions, a 15 percent reduction in the workforce. VanVoorhis said the company will work to make the reductions through normal attrition, such as retirements and voluntary severance packages.

Bill Tharpe is a 35-year mill employee. He said he and other union members were asked to "make some tough decisions."

"And these decisions didn't just impact us and our families and the company. They would impact the entire community," Tharpe said. "We made a decision we feel will be best for everyone involved."

Sandra Merritt has lived in Bastrop her entire life. Her 10-year tenure at the mill is a family tradition: Her father-in-law retired from IP two years ago. She has a brother-in-law and uncle who still work at the mill. She feels the decision made two years ago by employees to operate as safely and efficiently as possible played a major role in the company's decision.

"It's something we talk about every day," Merritt said. "We really changed our culture. We decided that employees were going to leave work the same way they came in every day. We learned that our employees are our greatest asset."

Work to begin the conversion will begin next spring and should be completed by fall. When the conversion is complete, products manufactured at the mill will be shipped globally.

By Mark Rainwater, Bastrop Enterprise
mrainwater@bastropenterprise.com
Enterprise Staff