The
demolition of the iconic paper mill along the Mississippi River in Sartell
won’t start until at least next month, but the dismantling of one of the area’s
biggest employers for more than a century has begun.
On
Tuesday, a couple of hundred bidders and watchers viewed the start of a two-day
auction of equipment, shop tools, materials, cranes and myriad other items that
remained in the 1 million-square-foot manufacturing facility. On Thursday,
winning bidders will begin to haul away their purchases. Items that can be
moved without a forklift will be gone by Saturday. Bigger equipment will be
removed by riggers in the next two weeks, with the most difficult pieces
scheduled for late June.AIM Development bought the mill contents and property from Verso Paper Corp. after last year’s Memorial Day explosion and fire led to the 105-year-old plant’s demise. The development company, a subsidiary of Montreal-based American Iron & Metal, brought in BidItUp Auctions & Appraisals from California to run what probably qualifies as the biggest rummage sale in Central Minnesota history.
