Rumford Mill is a

pulp mill A pulp mill is a manufacturing facility that converts wood chips or other plant fiber sources into a thick fiber board which can be shipped to a paper mill for further processing. Pulp can be manufactured using mechanical, semi-chemical, or ful ...

and

paper mill A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags, and other ingredients. Prior to the invention and adoption of the Fourdrinier machine and other types of paper machine that use an endless belt, ...

located in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

town of Rumford,

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

. The mill has two

kraft pulp Kraft paper or kraft is paper or paperboard (cardboard) produced from chemical pulp produced in the kraft process. Sack kraft paper (or just sack paper) is a porous kraft paper with high elasticity and high tear resistance, designed for packagi ...

lines and three

paper machine A paper machine (or paper-making machine) is an industrial machine which is used in the pulp and paper industry to create paper in large quantities at high speed. Modern paper-making machines are based on the principles of the Fourdrinier Machin ...

s. The mill produces 460,000 tonnes of kraft pulp and 565,000 tonnes of paper annually. The mill has 621 employees as of 2016. Now owned by ND Paper LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of

Nine Dragons Paper Holdings Limited Nine Dragons Paper (Holdings) Limited, operating as ND Paper in the United States () is a publicly listed paper manufacturing company in Mainland China, engaging in the manufacturing of containerboard products which include linerboard, duplex boa ...

, the mill is now known as ND Paper–Rumford Mill. The mill was established in 1901 by Hugh J. Chisholm. He had established the

Portland and Rumford Falls Railway The Maine Central Railroad Rumford Branch is a railroad line in Maine now operated as part of the Pan Am Railways system. The Rumford Branch leaves the mainline at Leeds Junction and continues northwest up the Androscoggin River valley, passing th ...

, which was completed in 1892 and aimed at exploiting the falls to manufacture paper. The Oxford Paper Company grew out of this mill and remained owned by the Chisholm family until 1967. Rumford was the sole manufacturer of

US Post Office The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U. ...

postcards, as well as the country's largest bookpaper manufacturer. Ownership passed to

Ethyl Corporation Ethyl Corporation is a fuel additive company headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, in the United States. The company is a distributor of fuel additives. Among other products, Ethyl Corporation distributes tetraethyl lead, an additive used to make ...

in 1967,

Boise Cascade Paper Company Boise (, , ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho and is the county seat of Ada County. On the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and north of the Nevada border. The downtown area' ...

in 1976,

Mead Corporation Mead () is an alcoholic beverage made by fermenting honey mixed with water, and sometimes with added ingredients such as fruits, spices, grains, or hops. The alcoholic content ranges from about 3.5% ABV to more than 20%. The defining characteri ...

in 1996,

Cerberus Capital Management Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. is an American private equity firm,Leaders Magazine"Providing Economic Opportunity: An Interview with The Honorable Dan Quayle, Chairman, Cerberus Global Investments, LLC". specializing in distressed investing. ...

NewPage NewPage was a leading producer of printing and specialty papers in North America with $3.1 billion in net sales for the year ended December 31, 2012. NewPage was headquartered in Miamisburg, Ohio, and owned paper mills in Kentucky, Maine, Marylan ...

in 2005 and

Catalyst Paper Catalyst Paper Corporation is a pulp and paper company based in Richmond, British Columbia. It operates five pulp mills and paper mills, producing a combined 1.8 million tonnes of paper and 491,000 tonnes of market pulp annually. The mills mostl ...

in 2015. In 2018 the mill was acquired by

. Starting in early 2019 ND Paper started rolling out a new “Clean Production” requirement mill wide. The Mill also received an extensive painting effort throughout 2019. In late 2019 ND Paper started in effort to have hard hats, gloves, and pants be worn at all time. (opposed to the previously acceptable shorts.) The mill is made up of numerous departments and facilities. #15 paper machine and 15 finishing are located in the same building closest to the lower gate security building. 15 finishing is located directly under the paper machine. This allows an efficient transfer of the paper once finished on the machine to be directly run to finishing to be cut for order. The building also contains an office space and locker room, separate men's and women's. #10 paper machine and #12 paper machine are located parallel to one another, separated by the blueprint of what used to be the location of #11 paper machine. 11 has been removed due to cutting costs. Both 10 and 12’s paper is sent by Nellie Bell (industrial truck) on trailer down a roughly 100-yard path into the north end finishing department. Here the paper is delivered to a supercalender, winder, or placed on a storage cart if no location is ready. North End Finishing (NEF) is mostly referred to as “The North End”. It houses 4 winders and 4 supercalenders with a salvage winder also located within the department but with no affiliation. Winders in layout from south to north are 38, 33, 35, and 44, with the following supercalenders located almost directly behind the previously listed winders; 21, 22, 24, & 25.

References

{{Androscoggin River Pulp and paper mills in the United States Buildings and structures in Oxford County, Maine Rumford, Maine 1901 establishments in Maine Catalyst Paper Pulp and paper industry in Maine American companies established in 1901 Companies based in Oxford County, Maine Industrial buildings completed in 1901