A mill owned by Swedish multi-national Billerud has received state support for updating Escanaba Mill, located on Little Bay de Noc in Delta County in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The mill opened in 1911 as Escanaba Pulp & Paper Co., enjoying success and expansion to produce upwards of 700,000 tonnes of paper each year. Its 830 employees are now involved in transformation from producing graphic-quality paper to meeting the demand for new, premium fiber cardboard.

The update has been stimulated by a $200M pot from Michigan Economic Development Corporation’s (MEDC), funding approved by Governor Gretchen Whitmer. The full allocation will be released if agreements between Michigan Strategic Fund (MSF) and Billerud are met.

The funding is separate to the Forest Products Processing Renaissance Zone which exempt Billerud from paying most state and local property taxes. Globally Billerud have nine facilities in Sweden, USA and Finland - accounting for a total workforce of 5,800 staff.