Sylvamo paper company is investing $100 million to upgrade equipment at its Eastover Mill, pictured here, plus $45 million at a facility in Sumter. (Provided by Sylvamo)
The owner of two paper plants in South Carolina is pumping a combined $145 million into the facilities — a good sign for their more than 900 employees.
Sylvamo, a spin-off of industry giant International Paper, is investing $100 million in its Eastover Mill, located about 30 miles southeast of downtown Columbia. The company also announced Thursday it’s spending $45 million on a sheeting plant it owns in Sumter.
“Eastover is one of the most competitive paper mills in the world, and it will continue to be an important part of our story for years to come,” CEO Jean-Michel Ribiéras said in a statement.
The investment in Eastover will speed up one of the mill’s paper machines, allowing it to produce an additional 60,000 short tons of paper annually — or enough to make 24 million packets of office printer paper.
“It’s always exciting to see existing companies grow and invest here,” said Jeff Ruble, Richland County’s economic development director. “If they are investing, that likely means there’s long-term sustainability for the plant.”
In Sumter, the company is replacing a machine known as a sheeter, which converts large rolls of paper from the mill into sheets. The Sumter plant employs more than 100 people.
The company expects to complete those upgrades by the end of 2026.
Workers at Eastover make what’s known as uncoated free sheet paper for copiers and printers, as well as folded into envelopes. It’s considered one of the top three free sheet mills in North America.
The mill was built in the 1980s by a company called Union Camp. Then, in 1999, International Paper purchased the facility.
Georgetown paper mill to close, nearly 700 people will lose jobs
The investments aren’t expected to create additional jobs, but the announcement means existing jobs aren’t going away.
In 2021, amid a global pandemic that shuttered office buildings while people worked from home to avoid spreading the virus, International Paper sought to remove free sheet paper operations from its balance sheets. The Eastover Mill, along with mills in Ticonderoga, N.Y., Brazil and France, rolled into a new company: Sylvamo.
A different South Carolina mill, located in Georgetown, stayed under International Paper’s ownership.
In December, International Paper shuttered the 87-year-old Georgetown mill, which produced fluff pulp used in diapers as well as paper. The mill, which was Georgetown’s largest employer, laid off 670 people.
In addition to the Eastover Mill, South Carolina has four other working pulp and paper mills, according to the state Forestry Commission. That includes a Domtar Paper Company mill in Bennettsville, Sonoco in Hartsville, Westrock in Florence and New-Indy in Catawba.