Sappi North America

Written by Beth Cormier, VP of Research, Development & Sustainability, Sappi North America

IF YOU IMAGINE Maine nearly 300 years ago, you would likely not recognize many of the places you know and love today. While Maine is a state abundant with natural beauty, and a majority of its inhabitants and businesses prioritize the preservation of that beauty, change is inevitable over such a long period of time. Towns have been established, neighborhoods have grown, and throughout the centuries of change there has also been consistent growth for one business in Maine. Sappi North America, a subsidiary of Sappi Limited, a global pulp and paper provider, has roots in our state that go as far back as 1854. The company owns and operates two paper mills in Maine: the Somerset Mill in Skowhegan, which is, in fact the company’s largest mill at over 2,500 acres, and the Westbrook Mill and Technology Center, which is the company’s oldest mill and has a unique history of its own. Sappi also operates its Shared Service Center in South Portland, which primarily supports sales, logistics, IT and finance operations employing Mainers throughout the state.

Let’s take a look back at this history to see how Sappi has transformed and adapted over the course of three centuries to remain a critical part of Maine’s economy while also advancing paper innovation and sustainable manufacturing.

THE 1800S: THE BEGINNING OF THE WESTBROOK MILL AND PAPERMAKING INNOVATION In 1854, an early pioneer in the world of coated printing papers named Samuel Dennis (S.D.) Warren came to the rural outpost of Westbrook, Maine and purchased a small paper mill situated along the Presumpscot River for $28,000. That purchase, which equates to $870,000 today, included two paper machines that had a production output of about 3,000 pounds of paper per day. S.D. Warren named it the Grant, Warren and Compa-

ny and got to work enhancing the mill’s operations.

In the 1850s, and for hundreds of years prior, the primary material sources for paper were flax and cotton. Rags made of these materials were beaten down, and the extracted slurry of cellulose fibers, also known as pulp, was then dried and formed into rolls or sheets of paper. It wasn’t until the widespread use of paper machines like Warren’s that companies started considering alternative source materials.

Just nine years later, he had added another paper machine to the mill, adding 8,000 pounds of output each day. By 1867, S.D. Warren changed the name of his mill to S.D. Warren Paper Mill Company and began experimenting with other natural materials. He began incorporating wood fibers from trees into his rag fiber mixture and was ultimately able to create a superior paper product. S.D. Warren Paper Mill Company became the first mill in the United States to incorporate wood pulp and set off a wave of innovation and success. It quickly became the largest paper mill in the world and by 1880, was producing 35,000 pounds of paper per day. The mill became a leader in coated paper production, which was a precursor to the glossy paper of today that fills the very magazine you are reading. the production of coated graphics paper began in 1981 and continues today. These papers set a new standard in the publishing business in the 1980s with Sappi’s flagship Somerset brand revolutionizing the aesthetics of magazine pages.

THE 1900S: THE MILL GROWS AND INNOVATION ACCELERATES Warren passed away in 1888 and was succeeded by his son, also Samuel Dennis, who continued the spirit of innovation into the 20th century. The Westbrook Mill quickly became a leading business in the area, employing close to 3,000 Westbrook residents and has remained a generational workplace for many families in the region throughout the decades. By 1929, S.D. Warren created a Technology Center that has been spearheading research and development endeavors in the paper industry ever since. This center is credited with creating the patented wood pulping process that increased fiber yield and reduced material and energy consumption, and developing the first branded coated paper called Warren Cameo. It also developed wet-strength paper for military maps in 1942 and shortly after developed release paper for plastics.

In 1967, Scott Paper purchased the Westbrook Mill and the Technology Center, and in 1974 the buildings were added to the National Register of Historic Places. Over the course of its ownership, Scott worked to diversify the mill’s operations before selling it to Sappi in 1994. That sale included another Maine paper mill, the Somerset Mill in Skowhegan, where THE 2000S: THE MILLS BECOME GLOBAL LEADERS Once the S.D. Warren Paper Mill was acquired by South Africa-based Sappi Limited in 1994, a new world of opportunities opened for the homegrown operation. As a global company, Sappi operates in 150 countries with 12,800 employees and most importantly, they align with the values that are at the core of the paper mills — innovation and sustainability. The Sappi Limited network folded the mill operations in Maine into one of the largest global producers of sustainable wood fiber products across three continents, with 19 production facilities in eight countries. The Sappi operations in Maine have remained a large employer for those communities and continues to bring economic value to the region.

Today, the Westbrook Technology Center employs approximately 50 technicians, engineers, and scientists whose goals are to discover and implement new products, optimize current product quality and improve product cost in support of not only Sappi North America operations, but global initiatives as well. Past and present employees of the Technology Center are the proud inventors of over 250 patents that have helped Sappi and its customers maintain a competitive edge for years. To further explore the unique applications of wood fiber, the Technology Center frequently collaborates with leading research institutions. For example, Sappi is assisting the University of Maine and Harvard University to develop a next-gen use case. The project involves the application of release papers to make microfluidic channels that could potentially be used for the mass production of water purification systems. In addition to working with uni-

versities and research institutions, Sappi is also proud to work with local entrepreneurs to help get their ideas off the ground. In 2019, the company helped Falmouth, ME-based eco-entrepreneur, Kai Smith, make environmentally-friendly beer coasters using Maine wood pulp and grain from the brewing process.

While all of this is impressive for Mainers specifically, the company has breathed a new life into the local facilities. Sappi invested more than $200

million to rebuild Paper Machine 1 (PM1) at the Somerset Mill and modernize the facility’s woodyard area. Both projects were completed in 2018, which helped solidify Sappi’s place in the competitive market with the production of paperboard products for luxury packaging, folding cartons and food service applications. Somerset’s innovation efforts have also led to advancements in environmental initiatives which were acknowledged in the 2020 AF&PA Leadership in Sustainability Awards for its “Caustic Reclaim and Reuse” project. The mill has set a model for reducing the volume of purchased chemicals, and soon other mills will implement a similar process to minimize the overall chemical demand while also striving towards its sustainability goals. Sappi continues to identify new methods to reduce its environmental impact locally and globally, including aligning with seven UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the company was an early supporter of the Paris Agreement on climate change, signing the pledge over six years ago.

“As one of the state’s largest international investors, Sappi’s continued commitment in Maine is a testament to the important role for Maine’s evolving forest industry on the global stage in the future,” says Wade Merritt, Maine International Trade Center President and Director of International Trade, Maine DECD.

As the company continues to evolve its business, it has afforded them the opportunity to continue to be a major and proud employer for the State of Maine, with Sappi employing 1,100 Mainers across their locations. The positive ripple effects for communities can be quan-

tified. For example, in October 2019, Josh Bivens of the Economic Policy Institute described that 100 jobs directly in pulp, paper and paperboard mills supported 468 indirect jobs in logging and transportation industries and 218 in service industries where workers and supplier employees spend their income.

Together, Sappi and employees are also creating thriving communities through the creation of the Employee Ideas that Matter grant program, which awards $25,000 annually to charitable causes that are meaningful to its employees. This community engagement is often funneled directly into Maine communities. In 2018, Sappi employees Dale Leroux and Don Davidson, received a grant to publish their children’s book The Rainbow Rescue, which highlights diversity and inclusion. The project received funding to print 500 copies of the book, which were donated to the Westbrook Children’s Project, who shared them with Westbrook Maine Community Center, Westbrook schools and other school libraries in the area. The duo had been working on a copy of the book for over 20 years, and with Sappi’s program was finally able to bring it to light for the youth in the region.

In addition to contributing to Maine communities through charitable acts, sustainability has also always been a key pillar for the company, and now more than ever, it’s woven deeper into every fiber of Sappi’s business. It starts with maintaining healthy and abundant forests. That’s why Sappi North America is committed to sourcing 100% of wood and pulp used in products directly from well-managed forests through the Maine Forestry Program.

“Sappi is a world-class leader in forest products, and their presence in Maine has been important not just due to hundreds of jobs today (and thousands more indirectly) but to the future of the industry here. Their long-range perspective ensures they’re always investing, innovating, and adapting to remain competitive now while pursuing next-generation products. For the past five years, Sappi has been a strong and fundamental force in the collaborative Forest Opportunity Roadmap/Maine (FOR/Maine) initiative, helping our state find a path to sustainably and responsibly grow the forest products industry in order to provide good paying jobs to rural Mainers,” says Yellow Breen, President and CEO of Maine Development Foundation.

Sappi’s forestry team is composed of trained forest professionals who are dedicated to working with woodlot owners in the State of Maine by providing guidance for healthy forestlands. The program offers Mainers assistance in the management of their land for a range of forest health improvements, wildlife needs, aesthetics, revenue from timber and more, while creating career opportunities in remote areas of the state. The program offers opportunities for young

foresters like Luke Lamond, who is now a Forest Technician but began his career through Sappi’s mentorship program. He grew up in the region and followed in his father’s career footsteps in forestry by obtaining a degree from the University of Maine in Orono studying Forest Operations, Bioproducts and Bioenergy. Although he had roots in rural Maine, where logging and timber harvesting were understood by most, his career at Sappi began in urbanized areas of the state which required on-the-job skills to teach the general public about sustainable forest management. This program continues to offer hands-on training and development for anyone interested in the growing industry. Looking ahead to the decades to come, Sappi will continue to give back to the communities and the environment to foster a happy and healthy Maine.

THE SAPPI FUTURE The word innovation holds a lot of weight at Sappi because it stretches far beyond this page into each section of the business and every product. Not only is there a dedicated Technology Center in the Westbrook Mill that is constantly discovering new ways to better utilize renewable resources, as a company there is still significant investment in research and development happening at each level of the global network.

It’s a surprise to some consumers that Sappi products can be found everywhere from clothing, car interiors, pet food bags, magazines, food labels and much more. In fact, at Sappi’s other North American mills, including the Cloquet Mill in Minnesota, bleached kraft pulp contributes to the creation of textiles, particularly viscose and lyocell fibers to create a soft, breathable fabric. Sappi Verve (dissolving pulp) is a market leader. The company continues to push the standard for creating quality products, while maintaining a sustainable process beginning with responsibly sourced wood fiber.

The innovative solutions and versatile uses of the tree don’t stop at Verve. In 2020, Sappi launched a new line of casting release paper, Ultracast Viva. This industry-leading solution offers companies across the globe a textured release paper line that embodies the company’s environmentally-friendly manufacturing goals. The state-of-the-art technology used in creating the casting and release papers comes straight from the Westbrook Mill. With 80 years’ experience creating the textures used in synthetic leathers, laminates, coated materials and other unsupported films, Sappi can be found head to toe on countless surfaces.

Throughout the decades, one thing has remained the same and that’s Sappi’s efforts to create great sustainable products through collaboration with hardworking Mainers. Sappi products are all around the world, but they all start in Maine.