ND Paper plans to restart Wisconsin mill

Owned by Chinese paper giant Nine Dragons, ND Paper cited growing demand for its products. | Courtesy of ND Paper

Illinois-headquartered ND Paper plans to restart a recycled paper machine at its Biron mill in central Wisconsin in the second half of 2025, citing growing demand for its packaging products.

The PM25 machine was idled in April 2024, five years after being converted in 2019 from coated publication papers production to recycled packaging materials production. Upon restart, it will make recycled containerboard and recycled kraft paper, according to a press release from the company, which is owned by Chinese paper giant Nine Dragons.

The company did not respond to a request for comment.

The Biron mill is now an integrated 100% recycled fiber operation with more than 2,000 metric tons of daily production capacity. The company produces recycled kraft paper, recycled liner and recycled medium, supplied by two new OCC pulping units. Downstream, sister company ND Packaging operates a corrugated box plant in Sturtevant, Wisconsin, about 200 miles southeast of Biron.

In April 2023, ND Paper started up a new pulping machine with capacity of 1,400 metric tons per day of OCC, meant to feed the PM26 paper machine, which like PM25 was converted from coated publication papers to produce recycled packaging materials in 2022.

Also in April 2023, the company said it was idling its mill in Maine and reducing production at its site in West Virginia due to unfavorable market conditions.

In late 2024, recovered fiber end users such as International Paper said they had seen stronger containerboard demand during the third quarter of the year.

In more recent earnings calls, North American mill operators also expressed concern about impending tariffs against Canada and Mexico. Companies with operations in multiple jurisdictions, such as Quebec-based Cascades, have indicated they may reallocate production to minimize cross-border transit and avoid tariffs.

President Donald Trump also is ramping up tariffs against China, where ND Paper’s parent company is based. The tariffs also could have an indirect effect on demand for finished boxes, if higher pricing leads to reduced spending on consumer goods.