IP 75th Commemorative Book

8/15/2019 IP 75th Commemorative Book

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1970s 1940s 1980s 1950s 1990s 1960s 2000s 1930s


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1852 1861

1870

1874

1874 –1984

1930s

1910 –1920

Teacher, Francis Wolle invents 1st

machine to make paper bags.

Union Bag Machine Co. formed

and licensed the bag machine

design to bag makers aroundthe country.

90% of bags in the US were madeon Union Bag designed machines.

Union Bag Machine decides to start

making bags, forms Union Bag & Paper

Co. by merging 7 companies that hadbeen using Union Bag machines.

Union Bag & Paper grows to making

4 billion bags a year, supplying 80%of all bags sold in the United States.

By the 1930s Union Bag &

Paper Co. had factories and

mills throughout the country

Bag makers began to switch to Kraft paper. The

Kraft process was invented in Sweden by accident

and the word “Kraft” is Swedish for strong. UnionBag did not produce Kraft paper so it was forced

to buy and import Kraft paper to compete withthe other major bag makers.

THE HISTORY OF UNION BAG


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Sleepy colonial city spared the worst of the Depressiondue to the agricultural trade through the Port of Savannah

City and county government planned to help employment

by creating a Forestry Corporation that would put peopleto work cleaning up forest land

Little industry, economy still based on agriculture and

naval stores (turpentine and rosin from abundant pineforests) as it had been for over a century

91,000estimated populationaverage apartment rent

$500average used car price

$0.35price of a dozen eggs

$0.25the price of a chicken

dinner out on the town

IN THE YEAR 1936:

THE CITY OF SAVANNNAH

Savannah Morning News Apr. 4, 1933

Site of 19th century brick works

Only Georgia plantation that wasindustrial rather than agriculturally based

Used special sheds on rails to cover

anduncover the kilns, thought to beone of the earliest “railroads” in the

United States

Vacant until early 1917 when

Diamond Match Co. built a plant

that only operated for a few years

Henry Ford would buy the Hermitage

Mansion and other buildings, moving

them to Richmond Hill in 1931 leavingthe property vacant except for the

Diamond Match buildings

THE LOCATION HERMITAGE PLANTATION6 7


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America

Back toWork

1930s


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Pioneering researcher in

using southern pine to make

Kraft paper

While a chemistry professor

at UGA in 1899 he went toGermany and learned about

the Kraft process and their

forestry methods

What he saw helped him save

the southern turpentine industryby using a method to collect

turpentine and rosin without

quickly killing the tree

His work to turn longleaf pine

into useable Kraft pulp madecoastal Georgia a desirable

place for a paper mill

Worked hard to convince

companies like Union Bag &

Paper Co. to build Mills in this

area, and his lab in Savannahmade the area even more

appealing as a site for a Mill

Col. E.George Butler

to Alexander CalderJune 16, 1935

“There are many thingswe have done to make

it possible for a firmsuch as yours to come

South, all we are asking

is that one will, we willget one for our people—

never quit—my sincerehope is that it is your

firm.”

“ If I thought thatSavannah was not the

place for you I wouldbe the first to admit it”

Col. E. George Butler

to Alexander Calder

January 25, 1935

“Just say the word old

fellow and we will showyou real effort Here’s to

a Union Bag plant at

Savannah with no ifsands or ma ybes….”

CHARLESH. HERTY

COL. E. GEORGE

BUTLER

Made Vice Chairman of the Savannah

Industrial Committee in 1934

He had responsibility for working to

attract industry to the Savannah area

Butler was the lead negotiator andmain cheerleader for Savannah

His determination was critical inhelping Savannah change from an

agricultural to an industrial port city

and getting the well paid jobs thatcame with that change

The “Colonel” was most responsible

for helping Savannh win the contestfor the Union Bag Mill

THE NEGOTIATIONAt an October 1, 1934 meeting of

the Savannah Industrial Committee,

Chairman H. C Foss reported that Union

Bag and Paper Co. was interested in

building a plant in the Southeast to take

advantage of the Kraft pulping research

done by Dr. Charles Herty. Early in 1935Dr. Herty concluded that a commercial

paper mill in the region was feasible and

that Union Bag and Paper Corp was

in definite negotiations to build one.

At his first meeting with Union Bag

& Paper, E. George Butler was

informed that Savannah was not

being considered and that Jacksonville,

Pensacola and Mobile were more li kely

potential mill sites. So began the hard

fought and determined pursuit of a Union

Bag Mill for the City of Savannah….

Alexander Calder to Col. E. George ButlerNovember 30, 1934

“You may rest assured that Savannah will be given very

thorough consideration and as soon as we have decidedon a site we will be glad to advis e you.”

“As I told you in Savannah, I made so many good

friends there that it is going to be very difficult to decideto locate elsewhere. However, I must not let sentiment

interfere with my business judgment. ”

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Alexander Calder to Col. E. George Butler

November 30, 1934

“At a meeting with the Mayor this

morning it was decided that they would

very much like to have a celebration hereat the plant when you begin construction

of same…which of course will spreadthe news of this great project for our city

and section.”

“Please advise us when you plan to start…we ill arrange to buy a few ten cent store

shovels, etc., to do the job

up right.”

Alexander Calder to H. C. Foss

May 31,1935

“Many thanks… We are off tothe races and should make

good speed from here on.”

470 acre site leased for

1 cent per year for the first35 years, then $10,500/yr.

for the next 64; option to

buy property for $250,000at anytime.

Low rail and river/ocean

shipping rates, free railswitching, and no cost

construction of rail sidingsor roads into the Mill

Came with tax exemptions

and liability exemptions

In return, Union Bag agreed

to build a certain sized

facility immediately, finishon time, use local materials

and local labor, and control

the costs of construction

…AND WHAT ADEAL IT WAS

Savannah Morning News, May 30, 1935

A DEAL!Finally! Colonel Butler’s persistence paid off,

but what really sealed the deal for Savannah

was good old cash. The loans, tax breaks and

promises of service from the rail, steamship

and local supply companies put Savannah over

the top. It was all worth it, the promised jobs

and impact on the local economy would be a

huge boost to the city and county.

ALEXANDER CALDERStarted with UnionBag in 1913 as a

bag salesman

Made the biggest saleby getting the F. W.

Woolworth account

In 1927 convinced

Union Bag to switch

to all Kraft pulp

In 1931 became

Union Bag & Paper

Co. President

Led Union Bagthrough the

Depression, neverhaving a year where

the company lost

money–even duringthe worst of the era

Made the decisionthat the company

needed to build a Mill

where the trees were…the South

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Boilers going up …

Construction began in June 1935 with acompany and a man well known in the

US paper industry. Merritt– Chapman &Scott (general contractor) and George F.

Hardy (consulting engineer) had workedon many large, challenging projects

around the United States.

View from the Woodyard side, debarking

drums, chip conveyor on the left, boilers,digester room in the center and paper

mill / bag plant on the right.

Foundation of the paper mill,

Diamond Match buildings in thebackground which will become

the bag plant.

(Below) View towards the Savannah River,

showing work on building foundations

(Right) One of 3 lime kilns going in

(Left) No. 1 PM is installed

(Below) No. 1 PM is ordered

CONSTRUCTION

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START UP

First Load of Wood Delivered to the Savannah Mill, May 18, 1936 By late May 1936, the Savannah

Mill was coming to life, a littleless than a year from the start

of construction. The “official”opening opening was not

scheduled until October, but

the owners and builders of thisbig new mill were anxious to

see it run, and it seem to runwell … very well.

(Left) Savannah Morning News,

May 18, 1936

(Center Left)Forest Geological

Review, June 1936

(Center Left) Atlanta Journal

Constitution, July 22, 1936

(Right) Savannah Morning

News, Sept 30, 1936

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GRAND OPENING CONTINUED GROWTHThe City fought hard to win i t, a year was

spent building it, the equipment and the

process had been proven … Now it was time

to declare it open for business and to invite

the community to see it. October 1, 1936 was

announced as the official opening of the mill

with a full slate of ceremonies and events.

From the day that constructionwas started there were already

plans to expand the mill. Just

as No. 1 PM was starting to run,construction on No. 2 PM and

expansion of the pulp mill wasbegun. Most of the buildings

in the mill were originally builtwith at least one temporary

wall to allow for expansion.

The Savannah Morning Newswas dedicated to the Union

Bag Savannah Mill opening on

October 1st, 1936, in additionto the stories and pictures, the

paper was full of thank you,welcome congratulations ads

from local businesses, thoseinvolved in the mills constructionand Union Bag itself …

By the end of the1930s Union Bag

had a big well established mill andvery active employee athletics. The

Union Bag Athletic Association(UBAA) sponsored baseball, softball,

basketball, bowling and boxing

teams. In 1939 they published thefirst formal monthly mill news

magazine, ”The Digester” andprovided both a ball park and golf

course on the mill site. The golf

course was called Mary CalderGC after the mother of Alexander

Calder. Alexander Calder, who wasa college athlete, felt strongly that a

company athletics program wouldhelp employees be healthier and

happier. Company wide there were900 members in the UBAA and 400directly in some sports activity.

(Bottom Right)

Savannah Morning News,

October 1, 1936

(Top Right)

Savannah

Morning News,

October 1, 1936

(Bottom RIght)

Savannah

Morning News,

September 26, 1936

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1940s

THE ‘BAG’

GOES TO

WAR

By August 1945, 1867 “Baggers” had gone off to war.


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MORE WOMEN BEGANTO WORK IN THE MILLBy 1943 women were stepping into many jobs left open by the men

going off to war. The paper in the picture represented the 2 millionth

ton produced in the Mill between 1936 and November 1945

y g gg g

In Feb. 1945 the Boatwright triplets signed up, 2 did notpass the physical, all three had been in the paper mill.

The 1940’s dawned with a continuation of the constantgrowth in the Mill. Union Bag continued to expand

the Mill with more paper machines, boilers and other

equipment going in, but events made growing moredifficult and effected everything….America and Union

Bag went to war with our entry into WWII.

SACRIFICE AT HOME

The Mill was put on war footing in 1941-42

By December 1943, Union Bag had lost

it’s first employee. George Richardson , a

former pulp tester, was lost with most of

his crew when their B-17 was shot down

over North Africa.

Along with many Americans,

the Savannah Mill flew a

service flag, which in Feb.

1945 showed that we had

1145 employees in the armed

forces and 8 that had lost

their lives.

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The Savannah Mill continued the nearly constant growth

…Pape r, and in particular paper for packaging, that began

with the mills construction in 1936. It was said that theoriginal general contractor never left the mill site for the

first 20 years. Paper and in particular paper for packagingwas declared a critical war material, so Union Bag was

able to get the permission to use valuable steel and othermaterials to continue to expand production at the mill.

(Right Top)

Savannah Morning News

December 22, 1942

(Right Center)This photo shows what was

planned or installed as of 1946in the Mill. Add to that PM5 in

1948, 10PB and 5 Turbine in 1949.Pretty impressive at a time

when materials and labor werein short supply

(Right Bottom)The Box Plant in operation in

October 1947

9PB going up in March 1945.

At 200,000 lb/hr steam and450 psi, it was twice as big as

any other boiler at the mill.

In 1948/49 10 PB wasbuilt, at 500,000 lb/hr and

1200 psi, making it thelargest mill boiler in the

world at the time.

T h e e x p a n s i o n a l s o i n c l u d e d a n e w c

r a n e f o r t h e w o o d y a r d .

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1940

1949

The construction continued

throughout the 40’s with thefinal additions between 1946

and 1949

The decade started with

about 3,000 employees and

producing 620 TPD on threemachines. At the end of the

40’s the mill employed almost4500 and produced roughly

950 tons on 5 machines.

The mill had installed:

1-7PB, 1-7 RB, 1-3 LK, 1-3 TG

and PM 1-3 and the bag plant

1-10PB, 1-10RB, 1-4 LK, 1-5TG,

PM 1-5, the bag plant, tall oilplant and a box plant

PM5 going up, looking from the

wet to the dry end of the machine

PM5 construction, from thedry end of the machine

In October 1943, J.C.

Graham, a boilermechanic in the powerarea was recognized for

buying the most war

bonds. In 10 months in1943 he purchased $4,000

in bonds, a huge sumfor the time. He used the

proceeds from his afterhours farming to help

support the war effort.

Union Bag always had a

strong tradition of givingback to the community,

the war was no exception,as part of charitable

drives during this periodin supporting the war effort.

G. W. E. Nicholson, mill

and resident manager,celebrates another

successful communitychest and war drive in 1944.

Mr. Nicholson, Resident Manager andcrew celebrate putting PM5 into operation.

PM5 made its first paper on the morningof Oct 15, 1947 just as a hurricane was

coming ashore near Tybee Island. Despite90 mph winds and a 12 foot storm surge,

the crew “brought the machine in.”

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1950s

THE MARCH OF

PROGRESS

Booming from both the war and post war

demand for packaging, Union Bag continued to

expand with 2 new paper machines (6&7), 2 new

power boilers (11 & 12), a new kiln, 2 recovery

boilers (11 & 12), 6,7 &8 turbine improvements to

the woodyard and more warehouse space.

(Left) 12PB under construction

(Center) Inside the kiln, showing

heavy chain to break up lime.

(Right) LK 7 under construction,

replaced #1 & 2 kiln


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Extension to pulp mill(Left) 11 power boiler

nearing completion in July

1957. When finished, itwould produce 450,000 lbs

/hr and burn 70 tons/hr ofbark from the wood used by

the mill. It will be the mill’s

largest power boiler.

(Right) To make room for

new equipment some of theold had to go, 1st the large

stack on the river and then

the Diamond Match watertower which had been at the

site since 1917, and a fixtureof the mill skyline since it was

constructed in 1936.

(Bottom Left) ShineJackson watches the

first pulp go downPM6

(Bottom Right) A

crowd waits for PM6to start up

On Dec 31, 1959PM7 made its first

paper with a crowd

in attendance.

(Bottom Left) 12recovery boiler going

up in Nov 1955, at thetime the largest recovery

boiler in the world.

(Bottom Right) No. 6turbine, largest mill

turbine to date. The millturbine room generated

enough power to supplyRichmond, Virginia.

PM6 foundation

11 recovery boiler

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(Left) New Flumet

(Center) New wood

“escalator

(Right) New flume

in operation

(Left) There was even a herd

of goats that kept the weeds

down in the salvage yard!

(Left Center) The mill had a

staff of painters that applied

10,000 gal/year of paint to

everything in the mill

(Right Center) The mill

blacksmith, W. E. Yokum

carried on an old trade with

some modern tools

(Right) Mr. & Mrs Jarvis had

a total 100 yrs of service

making bags for Union Bag

(Below) The mill still had

employees and sons of

employees going off towar and sometimes not

coming back (bottomleft), this time it was the

Korean war.

UNION BAG WAS TRULY A SMALL CITY

By the mid 1950s employment had reached 5,300, Union Bag was trulya small city of people doing just about everything. We had carpenters,

plumbers, gardeners, tin smiths, boilermakers and every other taskand type of people imaginable including all of those shown here …

(Top Left) Early 1950s

woodyard showing someof the 1,700 cords per

day that the mill used. InFebruary 1951 ,the yard

held 85,000 cords, an alltime high.

(Top Right) New woodyard

skyline show new chipsilos and conveyors. In

early 1954 the mill was

voted one of the 7 wondersof Georgia by the Associa-

tion of Civil Engineers.

(Left Top) From only 600

employees in 1936, theshift change in the 50s

was probably that manypeople by itself …

(Right) The growth of

the mill between 1936and the mid 1950s was

astounding as shown inthis photograph.

(Left Bottom) This is the

first group of bag plantemployees in 1936, all

48 of them. In 1951 therewere 783 employees in

the bag plant.

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(Right & RIght Middle)

Murals that were painted

by Atlanta artist David

Reese for the reception

area of the Administation

building in March 1952

(Left Middle) Movie

“Green Gold” shooting on

PM5 October 1951

(Left) Union Bag crowd

at “Green Gold” showing

October 1951

(Right) Mill Exports were

increasing as Europe rebuilt

from the war and the port of

Savannah built new facilities.

(Left) Hundreds visited the

mill, including the Chamber

of Commerce above and

Beaufort County High School

students. 400 visited in June

57 alone.

1861 1874 1884 1956UNION BAG MACHINE CO. UNION BAG AND PAPER CO. UNION BAG AND PAPER CORP UNION BAG–CAMP PAPER CORP.

82 years after becoming

Union Bag and Paper Corp,

Union Bag merged with Camp

Manufacturing to become

Union Bag-Camp Paper Corp.

Camp Manufacturing was born

in 1874 as a lumber company

in Virginia. By the 1950s it had

a large paper mill in Franklin,

Virginia that made bleached

paper grades. Now Union Bag

had two paper mills and a

multitude of product lines …

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NEWMILESTONES

1960s

After 20 plus years of almost …And by 1965 it had planted its In 1966 with just hours to spare


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p y

continuous construction activityat Savannah shifted from building

to running. The company wasfocused on its new Mill in Franklin

Virginia and it rapidly expandingcollection of box plants. The focus

at Savannah was in completing

the a few remaining buildingprojects and setting records…

Union Bag began planting pine

seedlings in 1938, by 1960 it hadplanted its 100 millionth…

y p

200 millionth, which included92 million given to private land

owners. The 200 millionth wasplanted at Mary Calder GC and

dedicated to Arthur Jeffords headof procurement, killed in an auto

accident the year before.

j p

on New Years eve, PM7 producedthe 1 millionth ton for that year, a

record production for a paper millthat would stand for years. Paper

Mill Superintendant C. E. (Shine)Jackson celebrates the achievement

38 39

(Left) K1 digester starts to rise! (Right) K1 nears the top… (Top Right)


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The K1 control room.

(Bottom Left)

Gala Banquet at the Deso-to celebrating 25 years!

(Bottom Center)

Alexander Calder Sr.accepts a plaque from

the Savannah Chamber of

Commerce on the Mill’s25 years in Savannah.

(Bottom Right)1961 was a big year as it

was the 25th anniversary

of the mills birth and the100th for the origins of

the c ompany.

40 41

A DECADE OF


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RECORDS!At the dawn of the decade the mill

had 5300 employees and produced

around 2000 TPD. The Mill consistedof 10-12PB, 1-8TG, 4-13RB, 1-6LK, 44

Batch digesters and 1-7PM. The boxplant, bag plant, tall oil and the

chemical plant

Through the decade the

mill set numerous records:

1962: 2517 TPD

1964: 2598 TPDMay 65: 2624 TPD

Aug 65: 2673 TPDNov 65 2673 TPD

The Mill finished the decade with justover 5,100 employees and produced and

average of 2,523 tons

The Mill consisted of 10-12PB, 1-8TG,4-13RB, 1-6LK, 44 Batch digesters, K1 con-

tinuous digester and 1-7PM. The box plant,bag plant, tall oil and the chemical plant

(Left) In 1962, Alexander Calder Sr.,

the man that launched Union Bag andSavannah towards the papermaking re-

cord books by placing a bet on Savannahpassed away on Sea Island Georgia at the

age of 76. H e had already passed the torch

to his son and heir, Alexander Calder, Jr.

Between March 1961 and December

1962 the mill worked 2,102,000 man

hours without a Lost Time injury. A

record for any company f acility.

Evidence of the safety

culture, In December ‘61,

Union Camp offered em-

ployees the opportunity to

buy seat belts for their cars

through the company.

Speaking of records,

Savannah set one

with a 3.6” snowfall

on Feb 8, 1968. It

broke a record that

went back to 1899! 1 9 3 6 T O 1 9 6 1

A S I D E B Y S I

D E C O M PA R

I S O N

T O S E E H O W

FA R W E ’ D C O

M E

M i l l s to re s i n

1 9 3 6 ( le f t ) a s

o p po sed to 1

9 6 1 ( r ig h t )

M i l l w r ig h t s w

o r ked i n t he

b u i ld i ng o n

t he le f t i n 1 9

3 6

a s co m pa red

to t he o ne o

ne t he r ig h t

i n 1 9 6 1

Ga rage re pa

i r o f yo re fi n i s

he s se co nd b

e s t i n

co m pa r i s

o n w i t h “ tod

a y ’ s” ga rage.

( r ig h t )

1966: World record1,001,202 tons, first

mill to produce over1 million tons in a year

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A HISTORY OF STEWARDSHIP

As early as 1945, the Savannah mill was

hard at work reducing its air emissions

through the installation of precipitators

that would treat the emissions from nine

recovery furnaces.

Wastewater treatment also became a

critical focus for the mill. It was announced

in 1967 that a large, 310’ diameter

clarifier would be constructed to treat the

mill’s wastewater – five years before the

Clean Water Act was signed into law. As the

clarifier was nearing completion, plans were

already being made for secondary treatment

of the site’s wastewater. The plans included

installation of a pipeline under t he Savannah

River to carry the wastewater from the clarifier

to a new lagoon on Hutchinson Island.

The final section of pipeline was installed in

1972 and the system was put into service,

resulting in significant improvements in the

mill’s wastewater quality.

While the Savannah mill continued to grow and

prosper, it was becoming apparent throughout the

company and the nation that more needed to be

done to reduce industry’s impact on the environment.

The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1970 and the

signing of the Clean Water Act in 1972 reflected these

growing concerns and that change was needed.

Union Camp was quick to answer the call to

action and developed numerous large scale projects

to address both air and water issues.

By the end of the 1970s, the company had spent

over $56MM on environmental improvements that

had dramatically impacted both air and water quality

in Savannah and formed a legacy of environmental

stewardship that continues to this day.

ENVIRONMENTAL

STEWARDSHIP TAKES CENTER STAGE

8 washline progress 1977

1970s

44 45

The 14 Recovery

Furnace near

l ti Th“We believe this represents the


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While work was proceeding on the new secondary wastewater treat-

ment system, Union Camp was working on other environmental

projects as well.A new sanitary sewage collection system was being developed to

tie in with the City of Savannah treatment plant that was under

construction.

New venturi scrubbers were installed on all three lime kilns to

reduce particulate emissions.

Then Union Camp announced plans for a new recovery

furnace. The new furnace was anticipated to cost $34MM

and would enable the mill to close four, older, less efficient

recovery furnaces. It would result in massive reductions of

particulate and odors.

(Top left) The first shipment of paper from the mill to

China was in July 1979.

(Top right) Verner F. Kelly was appointed Director of

New Environmental Protection Dept.

(Bottom left) ‘Shine ON’: In 1972 a fixture of the Sa-

vannah Mill retired. C. E. (Shine) Jackson began his

papermaking career at a number of Mills in Louisiana,

Virginia and South Carolina before coming to work at

the new Union Bag and Paper Mill in Savannah in 1936.

He started as a backtender, became shift foreman in 1942,

assistant Paper Mill Superintendant in 1946 and finally

Paper Mill Superintendant in 1948. This is the job he held

until he retired. He started up or helped start up 6 of the 7

machines and figured he had been in on making 22 million

tons of paper.

(Bottom right) A long standing icon of the mill – the last of two

mill water towers – was taken down

GOVERNOR CARTERCOMES TO SAVANNAHIn 1971, a number of key events occurred

that highlighted the company’s dedication

to environmental improvement:

In April, Alexander Calder, Jr., the President of Union

Camp Corporation, announced the creation of the

company’s first Department of Environmental Protection.

Governor Jimmy Carter visited the Savannah mill on

May 7th to present the mill, along with 10 other Georgia

Pulp and Paper mills, with good citizenship awards.

The awards were given in recognition of the industry’s

voluntary cooperation in the drive toward cleaner air.

completion. The new

recovery furnace and

liquor oxidation system

came online in 1974,

significantly reducing

stack emissions of

sulfur compounds.

Announcement of new program

#8 washline

progress 1977,

started up in

Jan 1978

e be e e t s ep ese ts t e

largest commitment that has been

made to environmental improvement

at any existing facility in our industry.

We expect it to bring our Savannah

pulp mill into full compliance with

existing federal and state regulations;

beyond that, it will make a real

contribution to the people of

Savannah and the city itself.”

–President Alexander Calder, Jr.

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As the mill approached its fiftieth year of op-eration, its role in Union Camp was getting

less clear. Newer mills within the company,

such as Montgomery and Eastover, werelarger and more efficient than the Savan-

nah Mill, and were creating competitionfor production and capital.

If the Savannah Mill were to remain

competitive, it needed to improveefficiency and capacity. During the

decade, the mill was granted the

capital it needed to grow and remaina world class integrated facility.

In March 1980, #5PM was modernized to include a

new headbox, screens and other critical equipment.

In December 1980, the Savannah Mill set a new

world production record. It had exceeded 1MM

tons twice before, and was still the only mill on

record to have ever exceeded that threshold.

GETTING BIGGER AND BETTER

1980s

48 49


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LEAPING FORWARD WITH PDQ

On February 29, 1988 (leap year), it was announced that

the mill had received approval for a new $375 MM proj-

ect that would focus on Productivity, Dependability, and

Quality (PDQ) improvements.

Scheduled to be completed in 1991, the project would

reduce costs, increase production and improve the qual-

ity of our products.

#13 POWER BOILERTAKES SHAPEIn 1981, construction began on a new power boiler

for the mill. The new boiler, #13, was a major step

toward future manufacturing efficiency and making

the mill self sufficient in electric power production.

It was the largest boiler of its type in the industry.

The $91MM boiler was the first in the US built to

supply steam at over 1500 psig. The technology for

the new, electrode type precipitators for t he boiler

were only introduced in the industry in 1979.

(Above) While some processes

were getting more modern,

some still remained unchanged

after many decades, such as the

mill’s blacksmith, Sam Eady.

(Right) The new power boiler

wasn’t the only thing being built

at the mill during this decade.

There was also a new chip

storage system and roll handling

system in the works to make

the processes more efficient.

New coal handling system

50 51

New K2 digester#8PM completed


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Several other key pieces of equipment were included in the

project: a new #7 lime kiln to replace #4, #5, and #6 lime kilns, a

new long log chip mill and a new system for collecting odorous

TRS (total reduced sulfur) gases from around the mill. The TRS

collection system was installed to reduce odor by over 95%.

(Left) #7 Lime kiln with #4, #5, #6 in background

OUT WITH THE OLD,IN WITH THE NEWThe 1990s were a time of tremendous growth and

modernization for the Savannah Mill. Construc tion ofProject PDQ was nearing completion and brand new,

state-of-the-art equipment was being commissioned.Bythe time the project was completed, the productivity and

reliability of the entire mill was vastly improved, thus

cementing its position as the largest integrated pulp andpaper complex in the world.

Though the 1990s brought vast changes to the millin the way of new, modernized equipment, the greatest

change was yet to come. On April 30, 1999, Union

Camp became part of International Paper. This neworganization would prepare the Savannah Mill for

the 21st century.

THE

MODERNIZATION OF THE MILL

K2 announcement

#8PM under construction

It wasn’t long after the completion

of Project PDQ that both #15 Recovery

Furnace and #10 Turbine Generator

were commissioned as well.

#8PM completed

1990s

52 53

During this time, as throughout its history, Union Camp

f

In 1996, the Savannah area was chosen

to host the yachting events for the

1996 Summer Olympic games. Many

employees participated in that event,

including one employee who was an


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CHANGE COMESTO UNION CAMPAs the mill was preparing to move into

the next century, a big change was about

to come to Union Camp.On April 30, 1999,

Union Camp became part of InternationalPaper Corporation.

Support from the com-

munity was overwhelming,

facilitating the transition

to the new organization.

Union Camp becomesInternational Paper

employees were giving of their time and money to help

the community, through March of Dimes (left), United Way

(middle), and the mill’s own volunteer group – VOICES.

athlete in the games and one employee

who carried the torch for one leg of its

journey to the Olympic stadium.

(Above) In November 1992,

Union Camp opened the doors of

a new Employee Medical Center

in Savannah to serve the medical

needs of all existing and retired

employees and their families.

(Right) 1993 brought with it the

announcement that Union Camp

had been chosen as Company of

the Year by American Papermaker.

(Above left) In February of

1994, a ceremony was held

at the Savannah mill to

commemorate the one bil-

lionth seedling grown at the

Bellville, GA nursery.

The seedling was planted out-

side the Main Office Building

and still stands tall today.

GIVING BACK

CHANGING LANDSCAPESWhile the new recover boiler was under construction, two

events occurred that would drastically affect many employees.

In December 1994, the announcement was made that the

Savannah Mill bag plant would be closing at the end of the

year, thus ending 58 years of bag manufacturing at the site.

In August 1994, a dryer can exploded on #6PM crippled

the machine and forced it to be down for 3 months while

repairs were made.

54 55


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The challenge of optimizing a mill that was con-structed in 1936 was a daunting one. Finding the

right combination of pulping equipment, utilityequipment and paper machines to balance the mill

and make the most production was challenging. In

the end, the following equipment was retired, sothat the rest of the mill could run efficiently:

2000 – Retired 4PM

2001 – Retired 11PB, Retired 14RF, Retired 2PM

2002 – Retired 12PB, the Batch Digesters and #8 Washline

2004 – Retired 7PM

THE MILL OF THE 21ST CENTURYThe Savannah mill had undergone many changes

throughout the years as Union Camp. Now, as part

of International Paper, the mill faced new challenges

and opportunities.

The 21st century marked a time of rationalization –

restructuring and reorganizing to remain competitive

in the global market place.

While there were many struggles and difficulties

along the way, there were also many outstanding

achievements – those that can only be realized when

everyone works together toward a common goal.

Today, the Savannah Mill remains a strong,

competitive force in the world pulp and paper

market. Its employees are hard working, dedicated

and passionate about their work, their community

USHERING IN A NEW ERA

2000s

56 57


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THE SAVANNAHMILL TODAYToday, the Savannah Mill is a thriving, vital part ofSavannah, providing jobs for many employees and

contractors, and product to places around the world.

SAFETY HITSA NEW LOWSafety had always

been a key focus of theSavannah mill from

very on in its history.

Through diligence andhard work, the Incident

rate at the mill continued

to fall, until in 2006, theTIR fell to its all time low of

0.58, with four recordablesfor the entire year. The mill

is still striving to reducethat level even further.

New safety record in 1971

1971

(Above) Mill hits new record

low incident rate in December

1948, with only 6 lost workday

incidents that month – lowest

since mill startup

(Top Right) New safety hats

in 1948

(Bottom Right) 1975 – only 22

lost workday cases that year

1948

1948

1975

In 2006, under this new configuration,

the mill was able to set a new produc-

tion record of 1,019,508 tons with only

three machines in operation. Thisconfiguration is what is still in place

today, and this record still stands.

The shutdown of

many of the older,

less efficient produc-tion units enabled the

mill to streamline itsoperations using the

newer remaining

equipment, including:

#5, #6, and #8 Paper Machines

K1 and K2 digesters

#15 Recovery Furnace#13 Power Boiler

#7 Lime KilnH2 and H3 Hydrapulpers

58 59


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1969 1980s 1990s 2000s

1939 1951 – 19571951 EARLY 1960s


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Documents

IP 75th Commemorative Book