Jul 30, 2008. /Lesprom.com/. NewPage Corporation announced that it will close its Kimberly, Wisconsin, mill at the end of August. The Kimberly mill currently operates two paper machines, which produce approximately 500 thousand tons annually of coated freesheet paper used for a variety of commercial printing and specialty applications. "The coated paper market is being hit with a slowdown in demand as the uncertain economy is reflected in a reduction in print advertising. At the same time, we are experiencing higher input costs for raw materials and transportation driven by oil and natural gas prices. To balance the somewhat reduced demand in a manner that helps us reduce costs, we are closing our mill in Kimberly, Wisconsin. We continue to work to offset the negative influences by raising prices and driving productivity programs harder. We have made sufficient progress with the integration of our recently acquired facilities and we now have more flexibility to respond to customer needs. We can readily meet our customers' needs with our remaining facilities and at the same time improve our cost advantage versus our peers," said NewPage Chairman and CEO Mark A. Suwyn.