From the daily archives:
After the wood chippers go still and the boilers cool, the International Paper mill outside of Franklin will join a growing list of closed local factories.
Nearly 4 million square feet of factory space across the region is dormant or scheduled to close, not including International Paper’s plant, which will add hundreds of thousands of square feet to the market when it closes next spring.
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By Philip Walzer
The Virginian-Pilot
© November 8, 2009
The No. 6 machine at International Paper’s mill outside Franklin ran for the final time Saturday, but its workers will remain in other capacities at the plant through the end of the year, a company spokesman said Friday.
The spokesman, Desmond Stills, declined to say how many employees worked at the machine, which made uncoated freesheet, or copy, paper. Last month, International Paper announced that it would shut the mill in the spring, laying off about 1,100 people.
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By Hattie Brown Garrow
The Virginian-Pilot
© November 8, 2009
For now, International Paper Co. is one of the largest taxpayers in Isle of Wight County, and the children of some of its employees attend the relatively small school system in Franklin.
Thus, those two school divisions have much to worry about now that the company will close its plant near Franklin, at a cost of some 1,100 jobs. Part of the problem, officials in both localities say, is that they don’t know exactly what they will face. Whatever it is will come at a bad time, though, as the state seems likely to consider whether to reduce its spending for public education.
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Company wants to ‘lessen impact’ of closure, Faraci tells lawmakers By Nicholas Langhorne (Contact) | Tidewater News Published Saturday, November 7, 2009 FRANKLIN—International Paper Co. “did not arrive lightly” at the decision to close its Franklin mill, the company’s chairman and chief executive officer said in a letter to five lawmakers who had requested more [...]
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By Nicholas Langhorne (Contact) | Tidewater News Published Friday, November 6, 2009 FRANKLIN—Faye Spencer Bryant knows what the loss of a major employer can do to an area. She grew up in Roanoke Rapids, N.C., and watched, as the city was devastated when the cotton mills closed. “It devastates a lot of things,” she said. [...]
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By Diana McFarland
Smithfield Times News editor
November 4, 2009
FRANKLIN — Besides losing their jobs, workers at the Franklin paper mill are also angry with corporations taking manufacturing jobs out of the country.
Many pointed to International Paper’s Tres Lagoas paper mill, which opened this year in Brazil. Some also mentioned International Paper’s recent announcement of solid third quarter earnings as being contradictory to what’s happening in Franklin.
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By Philip Walzer
The Virginian-Pilot
© November 1, 2009
The International Paper mill outside Franklin – gone by next spring, shredding 1,100 jobs.
Also closing next year: the Smithfield Foods Packing Co. South Plant in Smithfield and the CooperVision contact-lens plant in Norfolk.
Combined, the three shutdowns will cost the region at least 2,300 jobs.
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November 1, 2009
The unfortunate news of the closure of the International Paper plant in Isle of Wight County near Franklin stunned many of us in the Hampton Roads area. I have friends who work in the plant and can only begin to imagine the angst that the closure announcement has brought upon them and their families. Indeed, it is not just the 1,100 families with direct employment at the IP plant that are affected, but thousands of other families in the Franklin area who, indirectly, derive their income through plant employee spending. From local banks, restaurants, trucking companies, grocery stores and other retail establishments to doctors, dentists and druggists, this ripple effect could be devastating to the region surrounding the paper plant.
Is there a solution?
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By Linda McNatt
The Virginian-Pilot
© October 31, 2009
ISLE OF WIGHT COUNTY
Stanley Sykes was one of the first International Paper mill workers to come out of a meeting with the governor Friday afternoon.
For the time being, the 49-year-old is a paper maker on the No. 1 machine. He’s the fourth generation of his family to work at the mill that looms over the city of Franklin. He’s been there for 31 years, and he’s one of about 1,100 millworkers who won’t have a job by early next year.
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By Nicholas Langhorne (Contact) | Tidewater News
Published Saturday, October 31, 2009
FRANKLIN—Gov. Tim Kaine visited Franklin on Friday, meeting with local and state officials as well as employees at International Paper Co.’s soon-to-be-closed Franklin mill.
“He basically wanted to have a casual conversation with local officials, union leaders and other folks that have been involved in the terrible consequences with this plant,” said Lynda Tran, Kaine’s communication director.
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Franklin mill prepares for start-upInside the Isle Newsletter – May 2012Inside the Isle Newsletter – April 2012Nominate a County Business for 2012 Entrepreneur of the YearAt Work With: Allison Magness, paper mill managerGreen Mountain Coffee Roasters Job FairInside the Isle Newsletter – March 2012Inside the Isle Newsletter – February 2012Small Business Resource GuideNominate a County Business for 2012 Entrepreneur of the YearGreen Mountain Coffee Roasters Job FairEconomic Development Launches Facebook PageTourism pays Isle of Wight a visitGreen Mountain Coffee Roasters – Employment & Business Supplier OpportunitiesBon Vivant Market Named 2011 Entrepreneur of the YearDanny & Romayne Byrum of Batten Bay Farm Named Farm Family of the Year for 2011
© 2009 Isle of Wight County | Department of Economic Development
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7130 Monument Circle, Suite A | Isle of Wight County, VA 23397
Lisa Perry, Director | 757-365-6251