Lisa Says: So, Sister Poulsen was talking about the Paper Mill in Franklin so I decided to do a little research (You know how I am!) and she wasn't kidding. That thing is HUGE!The mill made sheet paper but was shut down in 2008 and 1,000 folks in the town lost their jobs. the company that owned it was located in Tennessee and after a year decided that it would transform the sheet making factory into one that made "Fluff pulp" This is the soft paper product that goes into baby diapers, wipes, tampons, and medical bandages. The mill shutdown was a huge blow to the community and the re-opening a year later was a welcome improvement.
" [In 2008], International Paper Co. closed an enormous mill here that for generations had churned out white office paper, putting 1,100 people out of work and dealing a major blow to this tidewater city of 8,500.
During the recession, copy paper demand in North America "stopped overnight" and IP had to shutter the Franklin mill, said John Faraci, IP's chief executive. "We had no choice," he said. "We didn't have any orders."
...The revival came none too soon for the city, whose economy had been dominated by the mill since the 1880s. Today "closed" signs in storefront windows are common. The city has had to freeze hiring and dip into reserves due to an about $1 million loss this year in tax revenue from the mill. The percentage of City of Franklin residents living below the poverty line was 22% from 2006 to 2010, more than double the state rate. Unemployment sits at 10%. When IP sought to hire 220 workers, 3,000 people applied.
...And that peculiar mill smell, which one resident described as "like rotten eggs times three," wafts through area streets. Some hate it, but many residents don't mind.
Beulah Thorpe, 69, who lives right next to the mill, said she hushes people who complain about the plant's odor. "That is money you smell," she said. "It is a blessing to see people working there again."
