ND Paper’s Rumford mill in Maine is emerging as an example of how an established North American paper mill can respond to declining printing-paper demand through heavy capital investment, grade diversification and a shift toward higher-value applications.

Parent company Nine Dragons Paper has invested more than $330 million in the Rumford operation since 2019, following its acquisition of the mill in 2018.

The investment has included upgrades to a key paper machine, increased production capability and a move toward premium and specialty grades as the company adapts the 125-year-old mill to a changing paper market.

Today, Rumford employs about 530 workers and produces approximately 430,000 tons of paper and 100,000 tons of market pulp annually.

Rumford Moves Away From Traditional Printing Dependence

The broader Maine paper industry has been under pressure for decades as digitalization reduced demand for printing and writing papers.

According to data cited by the Maine Forest Products Council, printing and writing papers represented around 71% of Maine’s pulp and paper capacity in 2007, falling to 28% by 2021 and likely lower today.

Maine once had 35 paper mills in the early 20th century. Only five operating pulp and paper mills remain today, employing an estimated 2,500 to 3,000 people.

That decline has forced surviving mills to reconsider which grades they produce and which markets offer a viable long-term future.

At Rumford, the response has been to move further toward functional and specialty paper applications rather than relying solely on traditional communication papers.

Mill Now Produces Virgin White Paper for Multiple Markets

The Rumford facility currently produces 100% virgin white paper used across several end markets.

Applications include:

• Copy and printing paper
• Food bags used by fast-food chains
• Direct-mail products
• White liner for corrugated shipping boxes
• Promotional and point-of-sale materials
• Coated one-side specialty papers

Paper Machine No. 15 is central to the mill’s current production strategy, while Paper Machine No. 10 produces specialty grades for applications such as promotional materials and retail point-of-sale products.

One area identified by mill management is coated one-side paper, where relatively few North American producers remain.

The grade can be used for labels found on food cans, produce and other packaged goods, giving the mill exposure to applications where paper serves a functional role rather than simply carrying information.

Paper-for-Plastic Substitution Creates New Opportunities

ND Paper also sees opportunities emerging from efforts to replace certain single-use plastic applications with fiber-based alternatives.

This does not mean all plastic packaging can simply be substituted with paper, but policy changes, brand commitments and packaging redesign are opening new development opportunities for paper producers.

That shift is important for mills that previously depended heavily on declining publication and communication grades.

Colby Knapp, manager of Paper Machine No. 15 and a fourth-generation mill worker, said new paper applications are creating potential markets for the Rumford operation as other producers change their grade mix.

Glenn Poulin, director of production technology, said the mill has focused on identifying paper grades that customers still require while evaluating new product-development needs.

That approach reflects a broader change occurring across mature North American paper markets: survival increasingly depends on matching existing assets with applications that retain demand or are benefiting from new packaging trends.

Modernization Requires Hundreds of Millions of Dollars

Changing a paper mill’s product mix is expensive.

Krysta West, executive director of the Maine Forest Products Council, noted that converting an established mill toward products with stronger future demand can require hundreds of millions of dollars in capital.

Rumford is not the only example.

Sappi has invested approximately $600 million in its Somerset mill in Skowhegan since 2018, including an expansion that doubled the output capability of Paper Machine No. 2.

Together, the investments at Rumford and Somerset show the scale of capital required to maintain competitive pulp and paper manufacturing in Maine.

For older mills, the alternative is increasingly difficult: invest heavily to modernize and change the product portfolio, or risk becoming economically uncompetitive as demand and production costs shift.

Energy, Fiber and Trade Remain Major Challenges

Product diversification alone does not remove the structural pressures facing Maine’s forest-products industry.

Mills in the Northeast continue to contend with high energy costs, environmental compliance expenses, global competition and volatility in timber and pulp markets.

The region has also experienced a reduction in the number of independent sawmills, loggers and other businesses that form part of the wood-supply infrastructure.

Trade policy adds another layer of uncertainty, particularly because Canada is deeply integrated into North American forest-products markets.

These pressures matter because pulp and paper mills are highly capital-intensive facilities that depend on competitive energy, reliable fiber supply, transportation infrastructure and sustained operating rates.

Despite the contraction of Maine’s paper sector, the broader forest-products economy still generates approximately $8 billion in annual economic output, according to figures cited by the Maine Forest Products Council.

Agile Mills May Determine the Future of Maine Paper

The Rumford mill’s experience suggests that the future of mature paper manufacturing may depend less on maintaining historical product portfolios and more on the ability to change quickly.

Joel Slate, ND Paper’s director of fiber supply, identified workforce capability as an important part of that transition.

Future mills need papermakers capable of switching rapidly between grades, marketing teams that can identify changing demand and technical personnel able to develop new products within shorter timeframes.

“The mills of the future that will be successful will be agile mills with agile workforces,” Slate said.

That may be the most important lesson from Rumford.

Nine Dragons has not attempted simply to preserve the mill in its previous form. Its more than $330 million investment is being used to reposition an established Maine operation around a more diversified mix of premium, specialty and packaging-related paper grades.

For an industry that has lost many mills as traditional paper demand declined, Rumford shows that survival can still be possible — but increasingly requires substantial capital, flexible assets and the ability to follow the market rather than defend the grades of the past.

Last Updated on 28/08/2026 by Jota Machinery