Riverside to close Appleton paper mill

May 06, 2005. /Lesprom Network/. Riverside Paper Corp. announced it will stop making paper for the first time since it was founded in 1893, eliminating 101 jobs at its Kerwin Paper Mill. The privately held company told employees that it was closing the Appleton plant, although it will keep open a paper coating operations center there and a paper converting plant in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, which together have about 150 employees. The closing affects 79 union hourly and 21 salaried positions. Riverside is a specialty paper manufacturer whose products include school construction paper, wallpaper base and file folder base. Kevin Buckley, Riverside chief executive officer, said the company would continue to produce specialty products for the school, office and consumer markets. The company cut 85 union jobs when it moved its converting and shipping operations in 2003 from Appleton to the non-unionized Iowa facility. "Given the tenure of the company's existence in the Fox Cities, and the number of jobs involved, the closure is a disappointment certainly," said Jim Schlies, vice president of economic development for the Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce & Industry. Patrick Schillinger, president of the Neenah-based Wisconsin Paper Council, said the economic climate is forcing many paper companies to review their operations and find efficiencies.