Cellu Tissue Corporation was founded in 1984 by a group of private
investors who purchased a two-paper machine facility in East Hartford,
Connecticut. The East Hartford mill produced approximately 16,000 tons of
tissue used in the manufacturing of private label bathroom tissue and
furniture wadding. In 1986 the company made a strategic move to improve its
margins by producing highly engineered tissues for use in the hygiene
markets, i.e. baby diapers, adult incontinence products and surgical
wadding.
In 1992, the principal owner of the company retired and sold Cellu Tissue
to a private management investment group, becoming Cellu Tissue Holdings,
Inc. In 1995 Cellu Tissue purchased the assets of Coastal Paper Company, a
one-machine facility in Wiggins, Mississippi with production capabilities of
approximately 25,000 tons per year. Coastal Paper produced 'one time
carbonizing' tissue and was in the process of converting it equipment to
produce Machine-Glazed (MG) paper for the use in fast food, packaging and
laminating markets. This acquisition offered Cellu Tissue product
diversification and strategic shipping locations for the Latin American
markets.
In 1998, Charterhouse Group International, Inc. (a New York-based private
equity firm) became principal owner. Cellu Tissue's objectives were to grow
business in both the Machine-Glazed and Tissue market segments.
Since 1998, Cellu Tissue Holdings has grown with the acquisition of four
independent paper companies:
- Menominee Paper Company in Menominee, Michigan, producing specialty
machine glazed papers.
- The Natural Dam mill in Gouvernour, New York, producing specialty and
color dry crepe tissues.
- Interlake Paper in St. Catharine, Ontario, producing specialty tissue
and machine glaze paper grades.
- In August 2002, Cellu Tissue acquired the ex-Kimberly Clark Lakeview
mill in Neenah, Wisconsin.
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