Jun 13, 2007. /Lesprom Network/. Neenah Paper announced on June 13, 2007 plans to permanently close its fine paper mill located in Urbana, Ohio. The mill, with capacity of approximately 39 000 tonnes per year, was acquired by the company with the purchase of Fox River Paper in March 2007. Operations at the mill will be phased out in an orderly manner over the next twelve months. With the shutdown of the Urbana mill and the previous closure of the Housatonic, Massachusetts mill, the company is maximizing cost efficiencies by shifting fine paper manufacturing to utilize existing available capacity at the company's other high quality mills. "This decision follows a thorough analysis of how best to optimize our manufacturing footprint following the Fox River purchase. Closing the Urbana mill allows us further to improve costs and margins and the timeline will ensure we seamlessly continue to serve the needs of our customers," said Sean Erwin, chairman and chief executive officer. "We realize this will result in hardship for our employees at Urbana and their local community and will be working to assist them through this difficult transition." The company said it expected to incur one-time cash costs of approximately four million dollars for severances and other charges related to the Urbana closure and that savings would be realized through the elimination of fixed costs at the site. Neenah Paper manufactures and distributes a wide range of premium and specialty paper grades. The company also produces and sells bleached pulp, primarily for use in the manufacture of tissue and writing papers. Neenah Paper is based in Alpharetta, Georgia, and has paper manufacturing operations in the United States and Germany, and a pulp mill and related timberlands in Nova Scotia, Canada.