2001 saw the closure of paper mills in Berlin, Winchester, and Contoocook. In contrast, a paper mill in Groveton this week began reaping the benefits of a major new capital investment in co-generative power. And industry observers say Wausau Paper?s Groveton mill is well-placed to continue business into the foreseeable future.
NHPR?s Doug MacPherson reports.
THERE?S BEEN A MILL IN GROVETON PRODUCING ONE KIND OF PAPER PRODUCT OR ANOTHER SINCE 1893. TODAY THE MILL IS OWNED BY WAUSAU MOSINEE COMPANY, AND IT PRODUCES MEDIUM TO HIGH END PAPER FOR ANNUAL REPORTS, GREETING CARDS, AND OFF-SET PRINTING.
TOM BENOIT IS THE OPERATIONS MANAGER. HE LEADS THE WAY TO THE HEART OF THE PLANT ? THE DRYER SECTION.
TAPE SFX DRUMS: 116 ? 125
HERE, A NEVER-ENDING STREAM OF FRESHLY MADE, SOAKING WET PAPER RUNS OVER 40-ENORMOUS DRUMS. EACH DRUM IS 10 FEET WIDE, FIVE FEET IN DIAMETER.
TAPE BENOIT 088 these huge drums are what we call the dryer cans. They?re pressurized with high pressure steam, and what their purpose is, is to evaporate the moisture out of the sheet.
TAPE DOUG 109 And 24 hours a day, 365 days a year your pumping steam through these drums?
TAPE BENOIT Yes, outside of our repair days. :20
THE ENERGY NEEDS OF THIS FACILITY ARE FORMIDABLE ? IN RECENT YEARS, THE ANNUAL COSTS OF ELECTRICITY AND STEAM HAVE RUN AS HIGH AS 15-MILLION DOLLARS.
MUCH OF THOSE COSTS HAVE BEEN PAID TO P-S-N-H, WHICH SUPPLIES THE PLANT WITH ELECTRICITY.
THAT IS, UNTIL THIS WEEK. THIS WEEK, THE GROVETON MILL WENT OFF THE GRID, AND BEGAN RELYING ON ITS OWN NEW 13-MILLION DOLLAR COGENERATION FACILITY. BENOIT PROUDLY SHOWS OFF THE UNIT, WHICH IS 20-FEET WIDE, 80-FEET LONG, AND TWO STORIES HIGH.
TAPE SFX 397 ? 400, GENERATOR
TAPE TOM BENOIT 387 on this end over here to our left is the generator. Now the turbine spins the electrical generator which produces the electricity. On the other end to our right is the boiler. :13
BASICALLY, NATURAL GAS FIRES AN ELECTRIC GENERATOR. HOT GASES LEAVING THE ELECTRIC GENERATOR ARE USED TO MAKE STEAM ? HENCE THE TERM CO-GENERATION. LEFT OVER HEAT GENERATED IN THE PROCESS IS USED TO HEAT THE ENTIRE MILL. WHAT?S MORE, THE POWER IS GENERATED CLEANLY ? ELIMINATING TONS OF EMISSIONS OF SULFUR DIOXIDE AND NITROGEN OXIDE.
TAPE: FADEUP SFX 349, ENTERING THE METER ROOM
FOR THE MILL?S UTILITIES OPERATOR, RICH GOULETTE, THE SAVINGS ARE REALIZED IN THE QUIET, ELECTRIC METER ROOM. HERE, A SMALL CRYSTAL DISPLAY TELLS GOULETTE HOW MUCH POWER THE PLANT IS BUYING FROM P-S-N-H. GOULETTE IS HAPPIEST WHEN THE NUMBER IS NEGATIVE --WHEN THE MILL IS OFF THE GRID.
TAPE RICH GOULETTE, UTILITIES OPERATOR 356 your savings millions and millions of dollars in electricity costs. And that?s going to save the mill. That?s going to keep the mill here in groveton. :09
THE NEW FACILITY WILL SAVE ABOUT TWO-MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR, ACCORDING TO THE PLANT?S GENERAL MANAGER, DAVID ATKINSON. THAT MAY NOT SEEM LIKE A LOT IN AN OPERATION THAT DOES ABOUT 130-MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR IN NET SALES. BUT FOR ATKINSON, IT?S AN EDGE IN A HIGHLY COMPETITIVE MARKET.
TAPE ONE, DAVE ATKINSON 108 as we all well know in nh we pay some of the highest power costs in the country. And a few years ago we recognized it had the potential to make us competitively disadvantaged in our industry. :11
STATE LAWMAKERS RECOGNIZED IT TOO. THAT?S WHY THEY PUSHED HARD TO MAKE SURE THAT SO-CALLED ?EXIT FEES? WERE NOT PART OF THE STATE?S ELECTRIC DE-REGULATION AGREEMENT. STATE REPRESENTATIVE JEB BRADLEY OF WOLFEBORO, A KEY ARCHITECT OF THAT AGREEMENT, SAYS THE ABILITY TO GENERATE YOUR OWN POWER HAS BEEN A HISTORIC RIGHT IN NEW HAMPSHIRE.
TAPE JEB BRADELY if you discourage it, you discourage new technologies, and you discourage economic efficiency, and you know, the bottom line is, you discourage jobs in new hampshire. :10
GENERAL MANAGER DAVE ATKINSON HAS A KEEN INTEREST IN PROTECTING JOBS, TOO. ATKINSON IS A LOCAL BOY MADE GOOD. HIS FATHER WAS EMPLOYED BY THE MILL. ATKINSON GRADUATED FROM GROVETON HIGH IN 1982, AND STUDIED CHEMICAL ENGINEERING AT U-N-H DURHAM. HE NEVER DREAMED HE WOULD END UP RETURNING TO GROVETON AND WORK HIS WAY UP TO RUNNING THE MILL, WHICH EMPLOYS 360-WORKERS.
TAPE ATKINSON 428 it?s very nice to have watched and have been a part of the rough years here where there was a lot of uncertainty. Certainly as we look around at the north country, the rest of the north country, this is probably one of the brighter lights that exists, and I?m certainly proud to be a part of it. :16
IN THE ROUGH YEARS, THE MILL CHANGED HANDS RAPIDLY, AS OWNER AFTER OWNER TRIED TO SQUEEZE OUT A PROFIT WITH MINIMAL CAPITAL INVESTMENT. SINCE WAUSAU BOUGHT THE PLANT IN 1993, IT?S INVESTED A TOTAL OF 65-MILLION DOLLARS. ALONG THE WAY, IT CARVED OUT AN IMPORTANT NICHE MARKET.
TAPE ATKINSON. 228 we make about 22 hundred different types of end products to sell and we stock those in a state-of-the-art distribution center, and basically guarantee delivery to our customers, which are primarily paper merchants, in the major metropolitan areas ? we guarantee delivery the next morning. :18
OTHERS ARE TRYING, BUT SO FAR, NO OTHER COMPETITOR CAN MAKE THAT GUARANTEE. FOR JASON STOCK, HEAD OF THE TIMBERLAND OWNERS ASSOCIATION, GROVETON MILL ILLUSTRATES WHY THE PAPER INDUSTRY HAS A BRIGHT FUTURE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE ? DESPITE RECENT SETBACKS IN BERLIN AND ELSEWHERE.
TAPE JASON STOCK Wausau Mosinee has been able to remain nimble in the marketplace ? they?ve been able to change and adapt to market conditions ? and they?ve been able to justify and make the capital improvements that have been necessary to keep that mill running ? to keep it efficient. :14
THESE DAYS, MAINTAINING EFFICIENCY IN THE INCREASINGLY COMPETITIVE PAPER PRODUCTS INDUSTRY IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A PROFITABLE, LONG-TERM FUTURE ? AND WINDING UP IN BANKRUPTCY COURT. FOR N-H-P-R NEWS, I?M DOUG MACPHERSON.
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