Flambeau River Papers, LLC of Park Falls, Wis., has received a $2 million loan from the Department of Commerce to reopen and operate the former Smart Papers Mill. The award was approved at the Wisconsin Development Finance Board meeting held today in Madison.

Flambeau River Papers, LLC, will use the loan for the purchase of the facility and equipment and for working capital. The company expects to rehire 300 former Smart Papers workers when the mill is fully operational. The total project cost is $22.7 million. The company and the City of Park Falls are also completing an application for a $2 million Community Development Block Grant program loan.

The mill is a critical purchaser of wood throughout northern Wisconsin, buying 140,000 cords of wood per year. Flambeau River Papers, LLC, estimates that reopening the mill will support an additional 300 small logging businesses in the region and strengthen prices in Wisconsin's logging industry. The mill buys lumber harvested under sustainable forestry practices.

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