RUMFORD – When MeadWestvaco accepts applications on Wednesday and Thursday, it will be for the first time in at least two years.

Mill spokesman Tony Lyons said the company will take up to 1,500 applications for laborer positions at the American Legion Hall on Congress Street between 7:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. each day, or until the 1,500 figure is reached.

He said there are about 15 immediate jobs to be filled but the additional applications will create a pool of potential employees for possible future jobs. He said the company has no existing applicant pool to cover normal attrition caused by people retiring or leaving their jobs for other reasons.

He said the mill has also exhausted its recall list from a recent hourly position lay-off.

“All have come back to work or have had the opportunity,” he said.

The call for applications is not the result of any plans to expand operations, he said, although business has improved in recent months.

“The market seems to be improving and we’re more optimistic now than in the past,” he said.

He said when No. 11 machine was shut down in September, no lay-offs occurred. Instead, employees working on that machine were moved around the mill as needed. When the machine started up again, he said the mill found itself understaffed.

New employees will be assigned to work on No. 11 machine or on Nos. 10 or 12.

Applicants who are selected for one of the $11.77 an hour positions will likely begin work in mid to late summer. He said applications will be reviewed, then those selected will undergo an assessment of skills and medical tests.

He said about 1,100 people work at the Rumford MeadWestvaco mill.

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