Valentine paper mill to close in December

The Valentine Paper Company announced last week it is closing the local mill on Dec. 28, thus ending a Lafourche Parish tradition.

Valentine’s parent company and owner, the Dunn Paper Company of Port Huron, Mich., said “market forces” and a general trend of consolidating mills in the industry were behind the decision. By the end of December, 80 local employees’ jobs will end.

The mill has had a bumpy operation in Lafourche Parish over the last year. Last November, the plant had to cease operations for nearly a week because of high levels of saltwater, which made its way up Bayou Lafourche to the mill area. The bayou serves as the main water conduit for Valentine’s operations.

High salinity levels in the water are a serious problem for paper plants. Products produced at mills cannot sustain or be created with high salinity levels in the water.

Lafourche Parish recently received a $4 million grant from the state to build a saltwater barrier in Bayou Lafourche, just north of Larose, in hopes of stemming the upward flow of saltwater from the Gulf of Mexico. Although officials with the mill cited the saltwater problem, it is claimed that the issue was not a significant factor in the decision to close.

The Valentine mill’s production will transfer to Dunn Paper’s main plant in Port Huron. Officials said current Valentine mill customers will be served in Michigan.

The local property and buildings are expected to be sold sometime over the next year.

The mill, which took its name from the Valentine Plantation in Valentine, produces specialty-coated papers, which are converted and used as wallpaper, poster boards, masking tapes and other unique products. The plant has the ability to produce more than 200 tons of paper daily.