Verso Paper Corp. President and CEO Mike Jackson visited the State House Tuesday to deliver a simple message: Maine can’t afford to lose its pulp and paper industry.
Without a commitment on the state’s part to help bolster the industry, said Jackson, the future could be troubled.
“We want the state of Maine to know what it can do, and in fact must do, to sustain our industry,” Jackson said to a room packed with reporters and lawmakers. “The future of our company is tied directly to our success in Maine, and Maine’s economic future, especially that of rural Maine, is heavily dependent on a healthy pulp and paper industry.”
Verso operates two paper mills in Maine, one in Bucksport and one in Jay, which together employ approximately 1,750 people. With a 2008 payroll of $163 million and in-state spending of $450 million for goods and services, the company represents a major sector of the economy.
The economic downturn has taken its toll, and Verso is in the midst of temporary shutdowns at its Maine facilities.
Jackson presented Gov. John Baldacci with a report his company produced called “Maine on Paper: An industry we can’t afford to lose.” The report suggests several steps the state should take to improve Verso’s competitive position:
– Reduce the cost of energy by supporting the installation of a liquefied natural gas terminal in Maine.
– Improve the process of third-party certification of Maine woodlands to ensure that the wood used to make paper comes from well-managed, sustainable forests.
– Create education programs to train the papermakers of the future. Jackson said more than 45 percent of Verso’s workforce in Maine will turn over in the next six years, primarily due to retirements.
– Streamline environmental and land-use permitting processes to move away from what the report calls “unnecessarily costly and adversarial” regulations currently on the books.
– Invest in the modernization of the state’s freight rail system.
– Reduce state and local government spending to reduce the tax burden and better support programs that help manufacturing investments, such as the Business Equipment Tax Reimbursement Program.
Baldacci said many of his goals, some of which he announced recently as part of a bond package that Mainers will vote on in Nov. 2009 and June 2010, align with Jackson’s requests. Among them are supporting the construction of a liquefied natural gas terminal in Washington County and investing in railroads and container ports.
“We have to have the power to make sure our workers are working,” said Baldacci. “These are some of the best-paying jobs in our state.”
Asked why he decided to deliver his message in such a public forum, Jackson said his goal is to shed a positive light on his industry.
“We don’t need to defend ourselves and hide behind trees,” he said. “I don’t look at the industry in a negative fashion at all.”
Rep. Lance Harvell, R-Farmington, works in Verso’s Jay mill. He said he was encouraged by Jackson’s comments and hopes the state will take them seriously.
“The workers are scared,” said Harvell. “It’s a fear that has to do with where everything is going.”
Sen. Richard Rosen, R-Bucksport, who has one of Verso’s mills in his district, said he believes the state can make progress toward Jackson’s goals.
“I’m enthused that we’re seeing the political leadership in Maine willing to step forward and engage in a productive, forward-looking conversation,” said Rosen. “I haven’t seen that in the State House in a long time.”
(Statehouse News Service)
