March 28, 2024
Business

Veteran of paper industry named to run Brewer mill

BREWER – A new mill manager has been named for Eastern Fine Paper, according to a company announcement issued Monday morning.

Michael T. LaBonty will begin his new duties at the Brewer paper mill next Monday, according to Doug Walsh, vice president of Maine operations for the mill’s parent company, Eastern Pulp & Paper Corp.

As mill manager, LaBonty will be responsible for the productivity, efficiency, quality and cost of the manufacturing operations to include papermaking, finishing and coating.

LaBonty holds a bachelor’s in chemical engineering from the University of Maine and a master’s in business from Husson College.

He has held numerous positions in the paper industry, manufacturing uncoated and coated papers during his career at Fraser Papers Inc. in Madawaska, Champion International in Canton, N.C., and Great Northern Paper in Millinocket.

Just before joining Eastern Fine’s management team, LaBonty was paper mill manager at Great Northern, where he was responsible for the successful startup of the No. 11 paper machine after that mill’s recent $110 million rebuild.

LaBonty and his wife, Gail, will relocate to Bangor area in the near future.

Eastern Pulp & Paper is in the process of working its way back to financial health. The company has been under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection since September 2000.

Chapter 11 status protects financially troubled companies from creditors so they can reorganize debt.

When the company filed for bankruptcy protection, it listed debts totaling $181.3 million and assets of $187.8 million for its mills in Brewer and Lincoln.

Taxes owed to the city of Brewer for tax bills issued after the company filed for Chapter 11 continue to be paid in monthly installments, according to Karen McVey, finance director for the city of Brewer.

The company has indicated it plans to be caught up on this year’s taxes by June 30, McVey noted. She said the company is current with its quarterly sewer payments.

LaBonty succeeds former manager Robert Sullivan, who stepped down Jan. 30 after having served as general manager and executive vice president of the Brewer paper mill for more than four years and who came to the mill in 1989 as vice president of Eastern’s Coated Products Division. Before that, Sullivan worked as the technical director at Lincoln Pulp & Paper, Eastern Fine’s sister mill.

The Brewer mill produces coated paper for labels and fine printing and writing papers. The Lincoln mill produces pulp specialty paper and tissue.


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