The mill is using the pulp produced at the other Pixelle mills in Chillicothe, Ohio and Spring Grove, Pennsylvania, and supplemental purchased pulp

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Pixelle restarts 2 paper machines at Androscoggin mill in US. (Credit: Emilian Robert Vicol from Pixabay.)

Pixelle Specialty Solutions has restarted two of its paper machines at Androscoggin mill in Maine following a ruptured digester which occurred at the facility on 15 April this year.

The firm said that the A4 and A5 machines of the mill are now running round-the-clock while the customer support and sales personnel are accepting the orders from its customers.

The Androscoggin mill is using the pulp that is produced at the other Pixelle mills that are located in Chillicothe, Ohio and Spring Grove, Pennsylvania, and supplemental purchased pulp.

The two paper machines to produce the normal quality and output levels

Pixelle president and CEO Tim Hess said: “Our team in Androscoggin has performed exceptionally well. First and foremost, we will always remember that immediately following the rupture, they utilised their training, skill, and bravery to safely shut down operations.

“Next, we salute the determination that our employees exhibited in evaluating what needed to be done to safely restore manufacturing operations and executing their plan expertly in a matter of days.

“Finally, we are grateful for the first responders; local, state and federal authorities, and our neighbouring paper mills for their assistance.”

The onsite pulping equipment of the mill located in Maine has the capacity to process all incoming pulp.

The firm said that the recent investments in the refining equipment will allow the paper machines to produce at the normal quality and output levels.

According to Pixelle, the Androscoggin mill will continue to assess the explosion and find the root cause of the blast. It will also clean-up the affected site immediately, and will evaluate the options for future long-term pulp production.

Furthermore, the clean-up and evaluation of the site will require extended time, at that time the third paper machine, which produces non-speciality grades of paper, will not be operated.

Recently, Pixelle Specialty Solutions has introduced a new Aspect lightweight 2.1mil release liner paper to support both film and paper label facestocks for high speed automated labelling applications.