WestRock Co. announced Tuesday that it will permanently close its paper mill in North Charleston, South Carolina, as of Aug. 31, citing high operating costs and the need for significant capital investment at that location.
The mill produces containerboard as well as uncoated kraft paper and unbleached saturating kraft paper, with a total capacity of 550,000 tons per year. While the North Charleston mill’s containerboard and uncoated kraft production will shift responsibilities to other WestRock facilities, the company plans to exit the unbleached saturating kraft paper business when it closes.
About 500 people work at the mill and will receive severance and job transition assistance, WestRock said.
“The decision to close a facility and impact the lives of our team members is never easy, and we are committed to assisting our North Charleston team with exploring roles at other WestRock locations and outplacement assistance,” WestRock CEO David B. Sewell said in a statement.
WestRock and its predecessors have operated this facility as a mill for more than eight decades, according to local media. WestRock purchased it from KapStone in 2018.
WestRock decreased capacity at the North Charleston mill during a “reconfiguration” in 2019. It shut down one paper machine to eliminate 288,000 tons of annual linerboard capacity, for a remaining capacity of 605,000 tons annually for the three other grades. The reconfiguration was said at the time to balance supply and demand while increasing its earnings due to reduced operating costs. The change eliminated about 260 jobs starting in January 2020.
The North Charleston closure follows similar actions at other WestRock facilities in 2022. A Panama City, Florida, paper mill closure last June affected 450 employees, and a corrugated medium manufacturing operations closure at its St. Paul, Minnesota, mill that was announced last October eliminated 130 jobs.
