Sonoco shuts down Holyoke paper unit

Sonoco Products Co. today announced that it will permanently shutdown its small No. 3 specialty paper machine at its Holyoke, Mass., paper mill. The target shutdown date is June 27, 2008. The closing will affect about 20 workers, the company said.

The Holyoke No. 3 machine produces approximately 30 tons per day of specialty paper stocks used in such products as novelty tickets and book covers.

The shutdown will not affect Sonoco's larger Holyoke No. 1 machine which produces high-strength paperboard used primarily to produce the Company's tubes and cores. Likewise, the shutdown will not impact Sonoco's tube and core converting plant located in Holyoke.

"With markets declining for the kind of specialty paper produced by this small machine, along with rising raw material, energy and other costs, it made it impossible to profitably operate the unit," James Harrell, Sonoco's vice president and general manager, Paper-North America, said in a release.
(By D.C. Denison, Globe staff)