New owners cut 150 jobs at paper mill
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer
A round of layoffs struck Evergreen Packaging (formerly Blue Ridge Paper) last week when officials cut the positions of 28 salaried employees outright and decided to eliminate 122 hourly positions through attrition.
Canton banks, businesses prepare for buyout infusion
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer
The town of Canton will experience an infusion of dollars Oct. 12 when Blue Ridge Paper workers get their cash payouts from the company’s Employee Stock Ownership Plan.
State says mill discharge does not require public notification
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer
A clean water advocacy group is questioning why an accidental discharge of a paper-making byproduct into the Pigeon River by the former Blue Ridge Paper mill hasn’t been the subject of more scrutiny.
Blue Ridge Paper Products changes name, moves headquarters
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer
Blue Ridge Paper Products, long one of the largest employers in Western North Carolina, is no longer — at least in name.
An internal memo sent to employees Aug. 24 announced that the company’s name has officially been changed to Evergreen Packaging Group to reflect its new ownership by the New Zealand-based Rank Group.
Canton bridge project to cause delays
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer
Construction is slated to begin immediately on a structurally deficient bridge in downtown Canton, a project the Department of Transportation says will take months and force them to re-route a major thoroughfare.
The bridge is on Bridge Street toward the outskirts of the downtown area. It extends approximately 155 feet from the Old Lamp Factory warehouse to the north entrance of Blue Ridge Paper Products and is used frequently by mill workers and residents.
Beach Boys coming to Canton
By Chris Cooper
The ocean’s a powerful thing. Source of life, nice to look at ... all that stuff. How many fond memories do you have of the beach, the sights and smells, seagulls and bikinis? Ever found yourself wandering the shoreline and had some little tune pop into your head that went something like, oh, I don’t know — “... I wish they all could be California girls ...” or “... little deuce coupe, you know what I like ...”
Mill buyer amasses large share of juice carton market
Mill workers at Blue Ridge Paper Products are optimistic about their future under a new owner.
The buyer, a billionaire from New Zealand named Graeme Hart, has been gobbling up market share in the milk and juice carton industry over the past 18 months. His company, the Rank Group, has grown to the world’s second-largest maker of cardboard drink cartons. Hart has spent more than $5 billion on his forays.
Blue Ridge workers hopeful after buyout
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer
In the end, the acquisition of Blue Ridge Paper Products by the New Zealand-based Rank Group for $338 million last week may have been the result of the purchase of a single factory in tiny Pine Bluff, Ark.
World wide from Canton
By Sarah Kucharski — Staff Writer
John Anderson’s boisterous voice streams out from the computer speakers.
Workers need help to secure their future
The month-long celebration of Canton’s centennial Labor Day festival, which had much to offer, wasn’t really about organized labor. Now that the feel-good readings, concerts and historical affairs have passed, though, it’s a good time consider the history of organized labor in this country, ponder its pending demise and try to figure out how workers will fare in the future as U.S. industry undergoes a tidal wave of changing responsibilities.
