Family/Locally Owned Paper Mills Less Common in the State

Tuesday, April 18th, 2023 -- 11:01 AM

(Becky Jacobs, Appleton Post-Crescent) -They are scattered across the state, but there are still a handful of family- and locally owned paper mills in Wisconsin.

Over the last few decades, the ownership and capital landscape of the paper industry has "shifted significantly," as firms that were previously family- or privately owned were consolidated and acquired by private equity firms and other conglomerates, according to a 2022 report from the Wisconsin Paper Council.

This has occurred as the demand for paper products changed in an increasingly digital age, and as there's been growing competition in a more global market. Still, some families and local owners have managed to hold on to their mills and continue to support their local communities by focusing on producing certain products.

Look at the pulp and paper mills that have shut down over the years in Wisconsin, said Marty Ochs, founder of Green Bay Innovation Group, which focuses on Wisconsin's paper, pulp, printing, plastic and packaging industries.

Many were located in small and rural towns, where residents relied on the mill as a major employer, Ochs said. When a mill closed, it affected jobs not just in the mill itself, but in related jobs that supported the mill. Plus, the town lost a big taxpayer, he said.

The paper industry is "capital intensive" and "heavily regulated," Ochs said. So, "a family ownership would be very challenged to re-invest back into the company to remain competitive" with larger paper companies that have more resources.

Local, family-owned paper companies have close ties to the communities they are based in, according to Ochs. That's not to say that an out-of-state company wouldn't support Wisconsin cities and towns, he said, but a local paper business tends to be more inclined to "expand in their own backyard."

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