International Paper to sell Industrial Paper Business

Paper Co. sale affects workers

Mar 14, 2005 JS Online
ON WISCONSIN : JS ONLINE : BUSINESS & YOUR MONEY : BUSINESS NEWS : E-MAIL | PRINT THIS STORY International Paper sale to affect 1,000 workers By JOEL DRESANG jdresang@journalsentinel.com Posted: March 14, 2005 International Paper Co. said Monday it plans to sell its industrial papers business, which employs about 1,000 workers in De Pere, Kaukauna and Menasha.The pending $180 million sale is to Kohlberg & Co., a private equity firm whose portfolio includes the Singer sewing machine company. Stamford, Conn.-based International Paper, the world's largest papermaker, said in August that it was renewing efforts to divest its industrial papers niche, saying the business did not fit the larger company's focus. The announcement Monday came as no surprise, and it could have been worse. "I look at it as positive," said Kaukauna Mayor John Lambie, who worked at the Kaukauna mill for 33 years. "One of the alternatives was closing the mill. IP has closed bigger mills than this." Pat Schillinger, president of the Wisconsin Paper Council, said he hopes Kohlberg incorporates the new business and makes its headquarters in Wisconsin. "Our hope is that now they'll receive the attention they merit," Schillinger said of the Wisconsin operations. The division makes lightweight packaging papers and pressure-sensitive papers used in food and industrial packaging and consumer hygiene products. International Paper tried unsuccessfully to unload it in late 2001 but gave up seven months later. The division includes the Nicolet mill in De Pere, the Thilmany mill and packaging operation in Kaukauna, and the Akrosil converting plant in Menasha, as well as facilities in Lancaster, Ohio, and the Netherlands. Kohlberg, with offices in Mount Kisco, N.Y., and Palo Alto, Calif., invests in midsize companies where it can work with senior management to increase revenue and cash flow, according to the firm's Web site. Kohlberg did not respond to a request for comment Monday. International Paper expects to close the purchase, which is subject to regulatory scrutiny, in the second quarter. International Paper's share price closed up 42 cents Monday at $39.67. From the March 15, 2005, editions of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Get the Journal Sentinel delivered to your home.