Economic officials in the North Country say the closing of a Berlin pulp mill is yet another sign the region's economy is undergoing dramatic changes.
NHPR correspondent Todd Wellington reports.
Coos County economic development director Peter Rivier says the time has come for the North Country to find its next area of economic growth.
The announcement by Fraser Papers that it will shut down operations at its Berlin pulp plant came just days after the Groveton paperboard plant in nearby Northumberland closed.
Together that's a loss of 360 North Country jobs in the last five months. Rivier says the message is clear:
"What it means is, it hastens our need to transition our economy. Manufacturing jobs, like everywhere else, are pretty much going by the board, and we're no stranger to that."
Rivier says a large-scale study of the region must be conducted to determine what the next growth area of the economy might be.
Fraser Papers says the rising costs of energy and raw materials, combined with increasing international competition, led to the shutdown.
For NHPR News, I'm Todd Wellington.
