IP Investing $44 Million to Upgrade Bogalusa Mill's Woodyard

International Paper Co., Memphis, Tenn., USA, is spending $44 million on new equipment and technology and other upgrades at its Bogalusa, La., mill, according to reports by Lafayette, La.-based TV station KLFY and The St. Tammany News. The investment will help retain some 411 jobs at the mill. The state offered a $2.2 million tax credit to assist with the upgrades, which are scheduled to be completed in mid-2013.

The investment will upgrade the Bogalusa linerboard facility and is focused on modernization of the woodyard. It is designed to boost the mill's global competitiveness by adding new equipment and technology in the woodyard operations.

"The single most costly part of making linerboard is the wood," Mill Manager Todd Crutcher said in local newspaper reports. "We're moving into the 21st century with this woodyard. We'll be able to compete with anybody in the world."

IP became the century-old mill's fifth owner with its recent acquisition of Temple-Inland. IP currently operates 10 facilities in Louisiana.

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