RUMFORD — The local NewPage Corp. paper mill is in the process of restaffing its log delivery and chipping divisions, but mill spokeswoman Janet Hall would not confirm the number of people affected or when the two operations will restart.

“We continue to evaluate what is cost effective based on economics,” she said Friday afternoon.

Earlier this week, a Local Union 900 spokeswoman said that about 30 to 35 employees will be needed to run ground wood and long logs at an expected 50 percent capacity. Hall would not confirm the percentage.

The long log division unloads logs from delivery trucks and the ground wood division chips up the logs, which are then sent to No. 10 and No. 15 paper machines. No. 10 was shut down indefinitely in mid-September, while No. 15 returned to full-time operation a few weeks ago.

The impending startup of the unloading and chipping operations is good news for the local mill.

“It’s good for the mill and the employees when we don’t have to lay off so many,” Hall said.

The mill had earlier announced that about 100 positions would be eliminated. According to a previous statement by the union president, about 30 employees or so have been laid off.

“The original layoffs have been lessened,” Hall said. She declined to say how many people have been or will be affected.

Although the startup of two divisions is good for the Rumford mill, the Miamisburg, Ohio-based paper mill announced in an Oct. 12 press release that 160,000 tons of product would not be produced during the fourth quarter, systemwide, resulting in the indefinite shutdown of a paper machine at the Whiting, Wis., mill.

The first three quarters of 2009 called for a reduction of 150,000 tons of product each quarter.

Hall said many economic factors figured into the upswing at the Rumford mill and declined to say that the shutdown of the Wisconsin paper machine had any affect on the startups in Rumford.

“It’s a tough market. We continue to do what we can to continue to produce a top-quality product,” Hall said.

According to an Oct. 14 press release found on the NewPage Web site, financial results for the third quarter will be released on Nov. 10.

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