Tissue World Magazine
Alexandra Stuthridge, Technical Business Manager, BioProducts Institute (BPI)

Clearwater Paper Corporation has sold its Ladysmith, Wisconsin-based facility to Dunn Paper for $72m, and reiterated its focus on the production of ultra-quality tissue products.

The company will use the net proceeds to help fund the expansion of its Shelby, N.C. facility.

Linda K. Massman, president and chief executive, said the strategy for its consumer products business is to “match the growing demand for the ultra-quality segments of the tissue category”.

She said: “As a result, we elected to sell our Ladysmith facility, which manufactures recycled paper and does not align with that strategy.”

Effective 21 August, Ladysmith employees are now employees of Dunn Paper.

Brent Earnshaw, chief executive of Dunn Paper, said: “Ladysmith is a critical piece of our strategic growth at Dunn.

“The additional capacity at Ladysmith will enable faster growth in the specialty tissue/absorbent market and their recycled fibre source is well suited for a variety of applications within the Dunn portfolio.”

Clearwater Paper manufactures quality consumer tissue, AfH tissue, parent roll tissue, bleached paperboard and pulp at manufacturing facilities across the nation.

The company is a premier supplier of private label tissue to major retailers and wholesale distributors, including grocery, drug, mass merchants and discount stores.

Dunn Paper is a manufacturer of high-performance, advanced paper materials for lightweight technical food packaging and tissue products throughout North America.

It currently manufactures products at six locations across the Midwest, East Coast, and Ontario, Canada.

Dunn Paper is a portfolio company of Arbor Investments, a Chicago-based private equity firm.