Cascades’ new Virginia recycled containerboard packaging plant begins operations

Cascades, Inc. has produced its first roll of 100 percent recycled containerboard at its Bear Island, Virginia, mill.

The mill has an annual production capacity of 465,000 tons of 100 percent recycled containerboard. The project created 700 jobs in the region during the construction of the mill and 180 permanent jobs with the onset of commercial production.

"After the commissioning of the Greenpac mill nearly 10 years ago, the start-up of Bear Island marks another historic milestone in the strategic modernization of our mill network," says Mario Plourde, president and CEO at Cascades. "More than ever, Cascades has modern and competitive assets that will allow us to pursue long-term growth in packaging, on a North American scale."

The Bear Island mill is now entering the ramp-up phase of the machine and will gradually increase its production to reach full capacity. An official inauguration will be held soon.

Permanent closure of a paper machine at the Niagara Falls mill

Cascades is also permanently shutting down paper machine number two at its Niagara Falls, New York, mill, which had been temporarily shut down since November 2022. The machine, amongst the oldest in Cascades' containerboard platform, has a production capacity of 90,000 tons per year and would require investments for it to remain competitive. The permanent closure of this machine will impact approximately 40 positions. The majority of these positions are currently vacant or will be subject to attrition in order to minimize the impact on the employees.