The
paper machines at Newton Falls Fine Paper are being dismantled and removed,
forcing the St. Lawrence County Industrial Development Agency to give up on
trying to persuade the mill's owner to resell it as a turn-key business and
focus instead on reuse of the site.
"There's
no possibility for the facility to have productive capability as a paper
mill," IDA Executive Director Patrick J. Kelly said. "Finding ways to
redirect the site is obviously a priority."Sale of the mill intact collapsed in March, and its owner, Scotia Investments, Halifax, Nova Scotia, began liquidating the assets it sold at auction. The IDA had hoped for a while that either the buyers of the paper machines would change their minds about the equipment or that Scotia would rethink the sale. In the meantime, a scrapping operation has begun.
