Georgia-Pacific is investing approximately USD 150m to rebuild a tissue machine at its Palatka mill in Florida, replacing a unit installed in 1980 that makes paper for Angel Soft bathroom tissue. Completion is expected in the second quarter of 2028, following a similarly sized rebuild recently completed at the company's Wauna mill.
Why this mattersA second rebuild of around USD 150m in quick succession shows Georgia-Pacific renewing ageing US tissue assets that supply its Angel Soft retail brand.
- The project is worth approximately USD 150m.
- Completion is expected in Q2 2028.
- It replaces PM4, installed in 1980, which produces paper for Angel Soft bathroom tissue.
- Palatka mill in Florida has integrated pulp supply and also makes Quilted Northern, Brawny and Sparkle products.
- Georgia-Pacific recently completed a separate rebuild worth more than USD 150m at its Wauna mill.
- A separate May announcement covers engineering and planning for structured tissue machines and converting equipment at undisclosed central and western US sites.
- Construction work on the Palatka Number Four machine rebuild has already begun.
Georgia-Pacific has completed a USD 110m modernisation of the log handling system at its Monticello, Mississippi containerboard mill, with the new equipment in operation from 13 October 2026. The project, launched in April 2023 with an initial budget of USD 91m, added new weigh scales, two 35-ton radial cranes, debarkers and chippers, and cuts truck unloading time by about 50%.
Why this mattersFaster log intake and new debarking and chipping lines at Monticello secure wood-chip supply to the pulping line rather than adding containerboard capacity.
- Investment totalled about USD 110m, up from an initial USD 91m budget announced in April 2023.
- The upgrade was completed and in operation on 13 October 2026 at the Monticello, Mississippi containerboard mill.
- Two new radial cranes with 35-ton lifting capacity can unload a full truckload of logs in one lift.
- Truck unloading time is cut by about 50%.
- The project covers log weigh-in, unloading, debarking and chipping, feeding wood chips to the mill's pulping system.
- Log trucks now enter via GP Road and Cytex Road instead of the NA Sandifer Highway main entrance.
- Project is described as one of Georgia-Pacific's largest investments in Lawrence County facilities
Georgia-Pacific is closing the communication papers and pulp assets at its Port Hudson mill in Louisiana, affecting roughly 650 production jobs and about 40 business and sales roles. The company has withdrawn its application for a Louisiana Industrial Tax Exemption Program contract because the reduced headcount will no longer meet the scheme's jobs-related requirements. Final operations of the affected assets are expected by mid-March.
Why this mattersAnother North American communication papers exit removes capacity from a shrinking segment and leaves remaining buyers with fewer domestic supply options.
- About 650 jobs at the Port Hudson mill will ultimately be affected by the closure of the communication papers and pulp assets
- A further 40 or so business and sales roles are affected
- Final operations of the affected assets are expected by mid-March
- Georgia-Pacific has asked the Louisiana Commerce & Industry Board not to proceed with its Industrial Tax Exemption Program contract, saying it will not meet the scheme's jobs-related requirements
- Georgia-Pacific has begun discussions with union leadership on the transition for affected workers
- Georgia-Pacific will retain approximately 300 employees to continue running the site's consumer tissue and towel operations
The federal lawsuit between Georgia-Pacific and Four Rivers, Taylor County's largest private landowner, over the Fenholloway River pipeline serving the former Foley Cellulose mill has ended, according to a report published on 25 September 2026. A separate challenge by the Taylor County commission to the mill's state wastewater discharge permit is on hold and could head toward a negotiated resolution.
Why this mattersResolving the dispute removes a legal overhang tied to wastewater disposal at a closed pulp mill, a recurring liability for former mill sites.
- The federal lawsuit between Georgia-Pacific and Four Rivers over the Fenholloway River pipeline has ended, reported 25 September 2026
- Four Rivers is Taylor County's largest private landowner
- The dispute centred on the pipeline tied to the former Foley Cellulose mill in Taylor County, Florida
- The Taylor County commission's separate challenge to the mill's state wastewater discharge permit is on hold
- That challenge could head toward a negotiated resolution, according to the report
US District Judge Mary M. Rowland denied on 4 September 2026 the joint motion to dismiss and the separate motions by Packaging Corporation of America and Pratt Industries in the containerboard price-fixing class action brought in July 2025 by Artuso Pastry in the Northern District of Illinois. The 49-page decision found six of seven alleged lockstep or near-lockstep price increases sufficient to show parallel conduct, lifting the stay on discovery. Defendants must answer by 29 September 2026 and file a joint status report with discovery dates the following week.
Why this mattersThe case moves to discovery, exposing containerboard producers to damages claims and scrutiny of a market the plaintiff says five players now control with at least 85% share.
- Judge Mary M. Rowland denied the joint and the individual dismissal motions in a 49-page decision on 4 September 2026 in the Northern District of Illinois.
- Defendants must answer the complaint by 29 September 2026 and file a joint status report with discovery dates the following week.
- The case, Artuso Pastry Foods Corp. v. Packaging Corp. of America et al, was filed in July 2025 and alleges seven rounds of parallel price increases from November 2020 raising prices by about 30%.
- The court found six of the seven alleged coordinated increases plausible, including a USD 50-per-ton rise implemented on the same day after two and a half years without an industry increase.
- Ten defendants remain, including PCA, Pratt Industries, International Paper, Georgia-Pacific, Greif, Smurfit Kappa, WestRock and three Cascades entities.
- Graphic Packaging International and Smurfit Westrock were dismissed late last year, cutting defendants to 10 from 12; the court gave no reasons.
Butterfly Equity, a Los Angeles private equity firm focused on food and beverage, has agreed to acquire Sabert Holding Corp, a US-based maker of plastic, paper and molded fibre food packaging with 13 plants worldwide. Financial terms were not disclosed and the deal, backed by financing from UBS, Goldman Sachs and KKR Capital Markets, is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026. Founder Albert Salama will retain a minority stake.
Why this mattersSabert's 13 plants and multi-material foodservice range pass to a food-focused sponsor rather than a strategic buyer, keeping a scaled platform inside the private equity cycle.
- Butterfly Equity signed a definitive agreement to acquire Sabert Holding Corp, financial terms undisclosed
- Sabert operates 13 manufacturing facilities globally, including nine in the US and others in Belgium, England, Poland and China
- Sabert, founded in 1983 and based in Sayreville, New Jersey, employs about 3,000 people and holds over 400 product patents
- The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to customary closing conditions
- Sabert founder and executive chairman Albert Salama will remain a minority investor after closing
- Financing is being provided by UBS Investment Bank, Goldman Sachs and KKR Capital Markets
Georgia-Pacific is piloting an autonomous drone system at its Alabama River Cellulose pulp mill in Perdue Hill, Alabama, to standardise monitoring of construction progress on the site's USD 800m modernisation programme. The drones replace manual pilot-operated flights, aiming to improve consistency of progress data and reduce staff exposure to hazards on the industrial site. The trial is part of a broader digital delivery strategy targeting a connected digital twin of the facility.
Why this mattersAutonomous inspection tools tested on a major capacity project point to wider adoption of digital construction monitoring across pulp and paper capital projects.
- Georgia-Pacific is testing an autonomous drone system at its Alabama River Cellulose mill in Perdue Hill, Alabama.
- The mill is undergoing an USD 800m modernisation and expansion programme announced in 2025, running through 2027.
- The drone system standardises image capture for daily, weekly and monthly construction progress monitoring, replacing manual pilot-flown surveys.
- Georgia-Pacific said approximately 1,500 drone inspections have been carried out across its operations, without specifying the period.
- The project feeds into a wider digital delivery programme covering reality capture, 3D modelling and a planned digital twin.
- Alabama River Cellulose, acquired by Georgia-Pacific in 2010, produces bleached softwood kraft market pulp and fluff pulp.
The bankruptcy court handling the Chapter 11 of Bestwall, the entity Georgia-Pacific created by a Texas two-step divisional merger to hold its asbestos liabilities, denied a motion to appoint a trustee on 26 August 2026, and a parallel motion for an examiner was withdrawn shortly afterwards. Bestwall has alluded to a prospective settlement. Claimants had petitioned the Supreme Court on 20 February 2026, arguing that use of Chapter 11 by a solvent debtor is unconstitutional.
Why this mattersKeeping control of the case leaves Georgia-Pacific's divisional-merger structure intact, a reference point for other industrial groups seeking to isolate legacy asbestos liabilities in bankruptcy.
- The motion to appoint a trustee for Bestwall was denied on 26 August 2026.
- A motion to appoint an examiner was withdrawn shortly after that ruling.
- Bestwall has alluded to a prospective settlement, according to the report.
- Claimants sought certiorari from the Supreme Court on 20 February 2026, arguing Chapter 11 is not available to solvent debtors.
- Bestwall filed Chapter 11 in the Western District of North Carolina on 2 November 2017 after Georgia-Pacific used a Texas two-step.
- A Fourth Circuit panel earlier denied, 2-1, the claimants' subject-matter jurisdiction challenge.
Georgia-Pacific has completed a USD 150m rebuild of the No. 1 paper machine at its Wauna mill in Clatsop County, Oregon, marking the project with a rededication ceremony on 17 September 2026. The rebuilt machine, which makes Vanity Fair napkins, Angel Soft toilet paper and private-label tissue, restarted output on 5 June 2026 after the prior machine's last run on 5 March 2026, following construction that began in June 2025.
Why this mattersThe outlay confirms continued US tissue and towel capacity investment at a mill of over 800 staff even as some rivals pull back from paper.
- Project cost USD 150m, centred on the mill's No. 1 Paper Machine
- Old machine ran last on 5 March 2026; rebuilt line produced first reels on 5 June 2026
- Construction began June 2025 and used over 400,000 labour hours, 500 yards of concrete, 200 tons of structural steel and 70 miles of new wiring
- Rededication and ribbon-cutting held 17 September 2026
- No. 1 machine has run at Wauna since 1965, making Vanity Fair, Angel Soft and private-label tissue and towel products
- Wauna mill employs over 800 people in Clatsop County, Oregon; project also covered roll-handling upgrades on the No. 2 machine and building infrastructure
- Andrew Noble, president of Georgia-Pacific North American Consumer Products, spoke at the dedication ceremony.
- Wauna Mill Manager Keith Seal said the investment reflects confidence in the mill and its workforce.
