Irving Tissue to invest $120M
Company announces plans for new buildings, equipment at Fort Edward plant

By Chris Churchill
Albany Times Union, N.Y.
Aug. 28--FORT EDWARD -- Irving Tissue announced on Wednesday a $120 million expansion at its mill here, becoming the second Capital Region paper company to announce an expansion this month.
Irving said the expansion will include the construction of several buildings, totaling 136,000 square feet, mostly designed to accommodate a new paper machine.
The move, which is separate from a $35 million investment in the mill announced in November, will not bring immediate job increases, although a company spokeswoman said it could eventually result in the addition of 20 workers.
Robert Irving, president of the Canadian company, which is based in Saint John, New Brunswick, said in a statement that the investment shows Irving's commitment to the Fort Edward mill and its willingness to buy "the most modern equipment in the marketplace."
The company, which also has plants in New Brunswick and Ontario, employs 308 workers in Fort Edward. The plants produce tissue paper that is converted into toilet paper, paper towels, napkins and facial tissue used by consumers in the home.
Construction of the Fort Edward buildings is expected to begin next spring, with the installation of new equipment beginning in the summer. The project, assuming no hiccups, will be finished by early 2010.
The news follows the announcement earlier this month that SCA Tissue will spend $20 million to expand its South Glens Falls mill, which is about six miles northeast of Fort Edward. SCA produces so-called away-from-home paper products -- napkins, toilet paper and paper towels used in restaurants and other businesses.
But the news is not all good in the region's paper industry: In July, the Newark Group said it will eliminate 64 jobs with the closing later this week of the Bennington Paperboard mill in North Hoosick.
Irving's November announcement involved the construction of a 90,000-square-foot building in Fort Edward, as well as new equipment. That project is scheduled to be completed by October, the company said.
Irving is part of the family-owned Irving Group, which includes Irving Oil, a large energy company that also operates Bluecanoe convenience stores in northern New England and Couche-Tard stores in Quebec, and J.D. Irving Ltd., a forestry, transportation and shipbuilding conglomerate with 15,000 employees.
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