THE MINER
NOVEMBER 12, 2014 |
9A
Ponderay Newsprint Company County as a possible location site. 1987
• The mill consortium signed on KnightRidder Inc. of Miami as its new investor. Other partners were the Kearns Tribune of Salt Lake City, Copley Press Inc. of LaJolla, Calif., Central Newspapers Inc. of Indianapolis, McClatchy Newspapers Inc. of Sacramento, Calif., and Great Lakes Forest Products of Montreal, the managing partner. • The cost of construction of the mill was expected to be $300 million – double the original figure. • The PUD began stringing transmission lines to the mill site, and a $1.4 million agreement was formed to bring Bonneville Power Administration lines there as well. The total cost for the BPA lines ended up being $3 million. • On Oct. 1, 1987, several hundred people, including Gov. Booth Gardner officially launched the two-year construction project with a groundbreaking ceremony. 1988
• In January, 15 workers from Rust Engineering began work on the first two structures, an office building and a concrete mixing plant. By the spring, the construction crew numbered 300, and the crew
topped out at about 1,000 workers. • Union officials met, stating they were working toward hiring local labor. The first management team is announced: mill manager William G. Meany, paper machine superintendent Wayne Smith, plant engineer Alan T. Marana, and electrical-instrumentation superintendent Charles R. Green. Additional members included director of human resources Tom Garrett, purchasing and traffic manager Chuck Shonkwiler, controller Steve Skeels and Bruce Nunn as thermo-mechanical pulping superintendent. Total employment was expected to be 155 people. • Seminars were held in Cusick to prepare workers for employment at the mill. • At an Ag Day presentation, Meany said Ponderay would be buying white wood chips, freshly cut, to make the whitest newsprint. • A merger was proposed between the newsprint’s managing partner, Great Lakes Forest Products and Canadian International Paper (CIP) of Montreal. • Concrete foundations and subgrade work was done on the mill site. In July, work started on the paper machine building. • A huge water tank made its way to the mill site, tying up traffic on Highway 41 and moving through Newport on the centerline of Washington Avenue.
1989
• The BPA transmission line to Ponderay Newsprint was energized Jan. 13. • On Feb. 11, members of the International Association of Bridge, Structural and Ornamental Iron Workers ceremoniously placed the last major structural steel at the mill. A pine tree placed on the structure temporarily symbolized growth, and an American flag symbolized the country and the people. • A week later on Feb. 18, Gerald Whitney, a 37-year-old ironworker from Kennewick, fell to his death from the 100-foot level. He was not hooked up to a safety line, and Rust Construction was fined $1,600 for the error. Rust also donated $3,000 to the family. • Ponderay Newsprint’s managing partner, CIP, was sold to Canadian Pacific Forest Products, which became Avenor, Inc., in 1994. • The closed Forest Enterprises chipping mill was sold to Ponderay Valley Fibre. Plans were to operate the old plant for several months while a new chip mill was constructed. • Agreements were reached for newsprint shipping with the Port of Pend Oreille and Burlington Northern Railroad. • On Nov. 13, Ponderay workers made their first newsprint. It would be several more weeks before it reached commercial quality, but some of the paper was used in making writing tablets. • The Newport Miner and Gem State Miner Newspapers took delivery of the first commercial roll of newsprint, with the Dec. 6 issues of the newspapers printed on this roll. 1990
• The rate of production increased, and the newsprint was shipped by rail and truck all over the country. • The official dedication of the Ponderay Newsprint mill was held on June 8. 1994
• In November, Ponderay Newsprint reached a milestone, having produced its 1 millionth ton of newsprint. Industry watchers credit the company as one of the most efficient newsprint manufacturers in the world. With newsprint prices rising dramatically, profits were expected on the horizon.
1998
• Avenor, the mill’s managing partner, was bought by Bowater, based in South Carolina. Bowater assumed its 40-percent share in Ponderay Newsprint. 2007
• Bowater merges with Abitibi Consolidated of Montreal, creating AbitibiBowater, the third largest paper company in North America worth $8.3 billion. 2009
• AbitibiBowater filed for bankruptcy. Ponderay Newsprint managers said the local mill would continue to operate strongly, thanks to its publishing partners, which had guaranteed to purchase of a percentage of the mill’s output since startup. This agreement ended when the loans used to build the mill were paid off. After several acquisitions and mergers, the current publishing partners are McClatchy Company, Gannett Company and Media News Group. AbitibiBowater continues to be the mill’s managing partner with a 40-Percent share in Ponderay Newsprint Company. 2010
• PNC and AWPPW Local 422 began negotiating a first contract for operations and lab personnel. AbitibiBowater emerges from bankruptcy in December. 2011
• Managing partner AbitibiBowater changes its name to Resolute Forest Products. 2012
• Unionized workers at PNC vote to sign their first labor contract with the company, restoring many benefits that workers lost in recent years. The six-year agreement extends to 2016. 2014
• The mill shuts down its newspaper recycling facility in an effort cut costs.
FILE PHOTO
Pend Oreille Public Utility District officials tour the new newsprint mill.
Congratulations.
Congratulations to 25 years!
Ponderay Newsprint Company
Vaagen Bros. Lumber, Inc.
WE ARE BUYING LOGS!
• We’re buying saw logs and chip logs. Competitive Prices, High Value!
• We have foresters on staff to help with your timber management needs. • We are also buying and selling timberland. “Adding value to the forest for people, products, and the environment”
Call Now.
Colville: 509-684-5071 Usk: 888-445-1732
u t l a a r t g i o n ns o C on 25th year
Ponderay Newsprint Company You’re an important part of our community Pend Oreille County Commissioners
Fred Willenbrock, left, the publisher of The Newport Miner and Gem State Miner, picked up the first rolls of newsprint produced by Ponderay Newsprint Company Friday, Dec. 1, 1989. The newspapers were printed on the paper that week and a banner across the top declared the great news. The first mill manager Bill Meany was on hand for the historic moment 25 years ago. The shipping label behind them notes shipping number 001.
Proud to receive the first roll of newsprint 25 years ago and proud today of the company and all its employees Mike Manus
Karen Skoog
Steve Kiss
Paid for personally by Mike Manus, Steve Kiss, & Karen Skoog...
THE NEWPORT MINER AND GEM STATE MINER