RUMFORD — The No. 10 paper machine at NewPage Corp. is up and running, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The machine, which had been down since September, was restarted Monday morning, following a couple of weeks of maintenance by some of the employees who had been laid off since January 2009, and others.

“There’s finally some good news,” said Chris Dickson, vice president of Local 900, the organization that represents most of the nearly 800-member union. Dickson usually works in the mill’s maintenance shop.

The start-up of the No. 10 machine, which makes coated paper, was announced a couple of weeks ago, along with the call-back of all the employees who were laid off a year ago who wanted to return to the mill.

Janet Hall, spokeswoman for the mill, declined to provide the number of people who returned to the job. However, Local 900 President Matt Bean said previously that about 100 men and women would be back to work to operate the No. 10 machine and the supporting positions for the machine.

Also now operating are the long log and ground wood sections of the mill. The two departments feed the No. 15 machine which had been running intermittently for several months. Long log had temporarily been shut down and timber needed for the mill’s operation was obtained from other sources.

With the restart of No. 10, all machines and other major departments are running, including the pulp dryer and No. 12 machine which never was cutback.

The No. 10 restart nearly coincides with the appointment of a new president and chief executive officer of the Miamisburg, Ohio-based paper making company.

According to the NewPage Corp. Web site, Tom Curley took over for Richard Willett Jr. on Feb. 10. Willett resigned Jan. 18 after serving for four years. He is now a consultant to Cerberus Operations, based in New York City. Cerberus is the hedge fund that purchased NewPage Corp. from MeadWestvaco five years ago.

Finanical information for the fourth quarter of 2009, as well as for the entire year, will be announced Thursday, Feb. 18.
Besides the Rumford mill, NewPage Corp. owns mills in Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Nova Scotia.

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