Closing of Maine Mill Sets Back Paper Industry’s Biofuel Production Experiment, Idles 180 Employees

Wednesday’s closure of the Old Town Fuel and Fiber mill is a setback for the Maine pulp and paper industry’s efforts to break into biofuels production, industry representatives said.

The mill, owned by New York-based private equity firm Patriarch Partners, has ceased operations indefinitely and furloughed about 180 employees. While pulp remained the mill’s core business, it was the only facility in Maine experimenting with the production of biofuel on a commercial scale.

John Williams, president of the Maine Pulp and Paper Association in Augusta, said the news came as a surprise.