According to a report this week by the Times News, Kingsport, Tenn., USA, Domtar Corp. (Montreal, Que., Canada) will idle its downtown Kingsport paper mill to reduce inventory. 

"At Domtar we must continually monitor our production output and inventory with that of customer orders," Domtar spokesman Mike Cunningham was quoted in the newspaper report. "Accordingly, we are taking appropriate measures to reduce our inventory by slowing down production at our Kingsport Mill. We will keep you informed about the expected restart of operations as circumstances dictate."

The mill, first doing business in 1916 as the Kingsport Pulp Mill, is experiencing its centennial year in Kingsport. In that time, the mill has been acquired by four other owners — Mead in 1920, Willamette in 1995, Weyerhauser in 2002, and Domtar in 2007, the Times News reported. 

Since 2000, about $600 million has been invested in the Kingsport location, and Domtar said $12 million in capital funds supported the facility in 2014.

Domtar, in 2015, said the mill and its Ridgefields converting facility generated 390 direct jobs, plus 750 indirect jobs with a regional economic impact of $200 million per year. The mill’s annual payroll exceeds $35 million. The mill produces more than 420,000 tons of paper per year.