Nov 29, 2005. /Lesprom Network/. MeadWestvaco Corporation announced on Monday plans to indefinitely idle the №1 paper machine at the company’s Evadale, Texas, paperboard mill. The shutdown will commence and be completed in the first quarter of 2006. This action is taken as a result of substantial increases in input costs and is consistent with MeadWestvaco’s disciplined approach to eliminating excess capacity while improving efficiency across the bleached board operations. The company anticipates that 50 to 75 positions will be affected and is working on plans to reassign the employees to other parts of the mill. Evadale’s №1 paper machine, which is the mill’s oldest machine, began operation in December 1954 and has the capability to produce approximately 180 000 tonnes per year. The machine produces various bleached board products for food service, office products and packaging applications. The products produced on the №1 machine will be transitioned to other machines at the Evadale and Covington, Virginia, mills to maintain efficient production levels and to meet key customer needs. MeadWestvaco, headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, is a global packaging company that delivers high-value packaging solutions and products to the world’s most recognized companies in the food and beverage, media and entertainment, personal care, cosmetic and healthcare industries. MeadWestvaco, with operations in more than 29 countries, has been selected for the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes, and manages all of its forestlands in accordance with internationally recognized forest certification standards.