Professional Logging Contractors of Maine welcomes Sappi Somerset Mill Expansion Announcement

SKOWHEGAN – The Professional Logging Contractors (PLC) of Maine trade association welcomed an announcement by Sappi that it will invest $418 million at its Somerset Mill to convert the No. 2 Paper Machine there from producing coated woodfree graphic paper to solid bleached sulphate board (SBS), used in packaging, while nearly doubling the capacity of the machine.

“Sappi’s Somerset Mill in Skowhegan is an anchor of Maine’s forest economy and a critical market for loggers throughout the majority of the state,” PLC Executive Director Dana Doran, said. “We welcome this news as it shows Sappi’s commitment to the future of Maine and the logging workforce that supplies the raw material for the mill. The record annual profits announced today by Sappi also demonstrate the company is well positioned to increase compensation to loggers and forest truckers for wood, which will in turn help the logging industry weather unprecedented inflationary costs and other challenges.”

Maine’s loggers are a vital part of the state’s forest products sector, which is worth an estimated $7.7 billion annually.

The logging industry contributed an estimated $619 million to the Maine economy in 2017, supported more than 9,000 jobs directly or indirectly, generated $342 million in labor income, and pumped an estimated $25 million into state and local tax coffers.

Founded in 1995 with a handful of members who were concerned about the future of the industry, the PLC has grown steadily to become a statewide trade association which provides independent logging contractors and truckers a voice in the rapidly changing forest products industry. Board membership consists of only loggers, making it an organization that is run by loggers on behalf of loggers.

Learn more about the PLC at www.maineloggers.com.