MADAWASKA, Maine (AP) — Fraser Papers Inc. says it will keep its mill in Madawaska, Maine, in operation even if it shutters a sulfite pulp operation across the St. John River in Edmundston, New Brunswick.

Fraser officials contend they can buy pulp for less than they can produce it in Edmundston sulfite pulp operation without contract concessions. The union rejected the company’s final contract offer on Thursday, but will reconsider the vote on Monday.

Bill Peterson, the company’s human resources director, tells the Bangor Daily News that the Madawaska mill’s fate doesn’t hinge upon the vote in Edmundston.

Fraser’s Madawaska mill is its large largest paper mill and is capable of producing a wide variety of paper and packaging. It employs 672 people.