Mohawk to close Beckett Mill Jan. 13

HAMILTON — The Beckett Mill’s final day in Hamilton after more than 150 years of operations will be Jan. 13, said the paper mill’s owners, Mohawk Fine Papers.

Most of the 137 employees are still working at the mill unless they left for another job since it was announced in October that it would close at the end of the year, said Kevin Richard, Mohawk chief operating officer. The closure of the Dayton Street facility and three paper machines is to realign the New York company’s manufacturing platform in response to a changing paper market, according to the company. Production will move to Mohawk’s remaining two mills in Cohoes and Waterford, New York, according to Mohawk.

“We feel that over the years the Beckett employees have done everything we asked,” Richard said.

The employees stepped up and helped reduce costs and improve quality, he said. But it wasn’t enough to stay off the declining demand for text and cover papers, used for corporate documents, for example, he said.

Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2551 or clevingston@coxohio.com.

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