JACKSON - If International Paper Co. thought it could just quietly close its Natchez mill after 53 years, it didn't know Mississippi.
State, county and town officials, along with union leaders representing some of the mill's 640 employees, have pitched in to help IP find a buyer for the wood pulp mill. To help sweeten the deal for potential buyers, state and local officials and staff at the University of Southern Mississippi are evaluating what incentives could be offered, including grants, loans and cash rebates.
Mill employees have even hired a consultant to explore the option of the workers themselves buying the mill.
If no buyer is found, the town and Adams County will lose their largest employer and taxpayer as well as the mill's network of suppliers. And, in a state that lost a record 103 manufacturers last year, hundreds in the county of 34,000 will find replacement jobs hard to find or that they have to relocate to find employment.
The hurt extends beyond Adams County: About 200 mill workers live in Louisiana and others live in neighboring counties in Mississippi.
"When you close a mill, it's almost like a death in the family, said Bill Hancock, president of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1650, one of seven unions at the mill.
The closing wasn't unexpected. It's been more than two decades since mill employment hit a peak of about 1,300 workers. By 1986, employment had fallen to 900. More than 130 workers were laid off in late 2001.
IP, which will close the mill by June, said obsolete equipment and increased market competition had made the mill unprofitable. The company tried unsuccessfully for 18 months until last June to find a buyer.
"The best-case scenario would be for someone to come in and buy the plant and get those folks jobs, because otherwise this will devastate that community," said state Sen. Bob Dearing, D-Natchez.
The mill's manager, Steve Olson, said it remains a working mill and continues to serve customers.
But finding a new buyer won't be easy: The facility badly needs upgrading to operate profitably as a mill. It would be even more costly to convert it to another use.
Meanwhile, one job fair is planned for May 13 and officials at the Nissan plant opening in May in Canton will hold their own job fair, said Laura Godfrey, president of the Natchez Adams County Chamber of Commerce.
Nissan's plant will employ as many as 5,300 by next spring. But Nissan requires six weeks of unpaid preemployment training at a facility near the plant and no guarantee of a job. Hancock said unless Nissan offers training closer to Natchez, IP workers face a commute of several hours each way to the plant.
Copyright 2003, Associated Press. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
