'New' paper company gets $250,000 grant

POTSDAM — A $250,000 grant announced by Empire State Development Corp. for Potsdam Specialty Paper Inc. will be used by the company to better manage cash flow in coming months and to safeguard the jobs of 79 employees at the mill, according to General Manager Ronald F. Charette.

Mr. Charette said the grant is welcome news for the Potsdam mill and represents the third rung in a series of economic incentives awarded to the paper-making facility during the past year.

He said in recent months the company has also been buoyed by some $800,000 in low-interest loans handed out jointly by the Development Authority of the North Country, the St. Lawrence County Industrial Development Agency and the town and village of Potsdam.

In addition, the paper mill was also recently recertified for inclusion in the state's Empire Zone program, meaning it qualifies for substantial tax and investment incentives, according to Mr. Charette.

"This grant is a piece of that, to help get us some working capital," he said. "When the economy slows down a company needs working capital, or cash, and this $250,000 will give us some cash flow to help pay the bills."

Although a paper mill in Unionville has been in operation for decades, what is now known as Potsdam Specialty Paper represents a new business venture under new ownership born when Seafront Paper Ltd., a group of investors from the British Virgin Islands, bought the MeadWestvaco Corporation plant, Mr. Charette said.

Because the plant has changed hands, state officials consider the Potsdam mill to be a startup company. The $250,000 has been awarded to offset initial startup and operating costs during the company's first year of business.

Potsdam Specialty Papers LLC. has an estimated economic benefit to the local community in excess of $18 million annually, according to state officials.

Mr. Charette praised State Assemblywoman Addie J. Russell, Sen. Joseph A. Griffo, Assemblywoman Dierdre K. Scozzafava and Potsdam Supervisor Marie C. Regan for helping lobby the state for funding to keep the Potsdam plant viable.

Mrs. Regan said she and other local and state officials realized that losing the plant would deal a serious blow to the region's economy.

"All of the people who are employed there spend their money right in the town of Potsdam," said Mrs. Regan.

Town officials said the company will pay about $82,000 a year in property, school and library taxes.

The Potsdam paper grant is part of $16.3 million in funding announced Thursday by Empire State Development Corporation's Board of Directors in New York City aimed at retaining 699 existing jobs and creating 271 new jobs across the state, according to a press release.