Resolute Forest Products in McMinn County

Resolute Forest Products U.S. Inc. will invest $105 million in equipment and building improvements at its Calhoun, Tenn., pulp and paper mill and add about 25 jobs, officials said today.

Resolute, a top global paper products manufacturer, is one of McMinn County's largest employers with more than 500 workers. Upon completion of the project, the company will create the 25 jobs over the next five years.

"For more than 50 years, Resolute Forest Products has had a thriving presence in East Tennessee which can be felt far beyond the borders of our state," said Bill Hagerty, the state's economic and community development commissioner, in a statement.

Resolute Forest Products is a global leader in the forest products industry with a diverse range of products, including newsprint, specialty papers, market pulp and wood products. The company owns or operates more than 40 pulp and paper mills and wood products facilities in the United States, Canada and South Korea, and power generation assets in Canada.

The project will support the acquisition of a modern continuous pulp digester and other equipment to process wood chips. Other investments will be made on paper machine equipment which will allow for the strategic shift to a white paper grade mix and help the operation fully utilize its pulp dryer capacity.

The Calhoun mill, established in 1954 as one of the earliest newsprint mills in the southern United States, is located on the Hiwassee River. The paper mill is one of the largest in North America as a result of continued expansion and investments.

See more in Friday's Times Free Press.