Combined Locks Paper Mill Sold

Combined Locks Paper Mill Sold

COMBINED LOCKS (WLUK) — A Fox Valley paper mill has been sold.

McKinley Paper Company, a U.S. subsidiary of Mexico-based Bio PAPPEL, announced the purchase of Midwest Paper Group from investment fund IOP. Terms of the deal were not announced.

Midwest Paper Group makes packaging-grade paper at its mill in Combined Locks. The mill has a capacity to produce 500,000 tons per year.

“The acquisition of Midwest Paper Group is consistent with our business strategy to continue building a powerful integrated paper and packaging company, convinced that North America is the best region to invest and create shared value over the long term,” Bio-PAPPEL board chairman Miguel Rincón said in a news release. “We enrich our culture and competitiveness by warmly welcoming the people of Midwest Paper operations into the Bio PAPPEL- McKinley family.”

Midwest Paper is the former Appleton Coated mill that made printing and writing-grade paper until it closed in 2017. The next year, it was converted to be able to produce packaging-grade paper.

State tax credits covered $1.8 million of the $30 million conversion cost.