At a ceremony held in Shelby, N.C., Clearwater Paper Corporation announced the grand opening of its newest tissue facility located in Cleveland County. Gov. Bev Perdue, who has provided assistance to the project, was onsite to participate in the dedication.

"The dedication of this facility today ties back to one of Clearwater Paper's core business strategies — to focus on growing the consumer products segment of the company," said Gordon Jones, chairman, president and CEO of Clearwater Paper. "The fantastic level of support we have received from city, county and state officials in North Carolina has reinforced our decision to build this facility at Shelby."

Clearwater Paper has hired 100 local employees and expects to hire approximately 150 more workers before the project is completed. The project is expected to include seven converting lines capable of producing ultra-grades of private label tissue products and includes a Through-Air-Dried (TAD) paper machine, which is expected to be completed by the end of next year. The first two production lines have already started up at the site.

"Many critical commitments were made and fulfilled during this massive effort, demonstrating a great deal of dependability and integrity from all parties involved," said Vince Reese, Shelby plant manager. "But we are not done yet. Next comes our TAD paper machine, which will give us the ability to increase our premium and ultra tissue offering to better compete with nationally branded products."

When completed, the facility is expected to produce approximately 10 million cases of bathroom tissue and paper towels each year. The paper machine is expected to produce 70,000 tons annually.

Source: Clearwater Paper Corporation