First Quality Tissue Marks 20 Years Since Taking over Mill in Lock Haven, PA

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It was 20 years ago this October when the area was hit with a big economic announcement that, while totally not unexpected, still shocked the area.

On Oct. 18, 2000, International Paper announced it would close its Lock Haven facility over the next year or so, leaving more than 600 people eventually without a job. It was difficult to comprehend the impact on the workers, families, contractors, suppliers and the greater Lock Haven region. The trickle down impact of the eventual closure would be hard to measure, but it was huge.

The Express noted that it seemed only fitting that this year’s Express Progress edition’s theme was “Change brings Opportunity” for that is what has exactly taken place at the former International Paper site over the last two decades,.

“We had 47 different buildings there and almost of all them, at least to the unprofessional eye, looked like they needed to be torn down,” says Mike Flanagan, who at the time was Development Director of the Clinton County Economic Partnership, and is now president. “The mill had at one time served its purpose making paper and employing hundreds over many decades. But, in a word, the complex in 2000 and 2001 was a mess.

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