Georgia-Pacific's $550 million expansion adds 100 new jobs in Green Bay

GREEN BAY - Georgia-Pacific Corp. added a new dose of Brawn(y) to the 105-year-old Broadway Mill.

Company executives and community leaders on Tuesday gathered to celebrate completion of a multiyear, $550 million expansion project that added a new paper machine and converting equipment to the north end of the mill campus at 1919 S. Broadway. Brawny paper towels have already started to roll off the new paper machine, which employees first started up in late June.

"When you talk about a $550 million investment, creating more than 100 new jobs, it's a big deal," said Dean Wesolowski, a 32-year employee at the Broadway Mill who led the expansion effort. "It's a big deal I think for not only Green Bay, the community, but obviously Georgia-Pacific, the people that work here, too."

Dignitaries in attendance hailed Georgia-Pacific's decision to expand and invest at the Broadway Mill as another indication Green Bay, and northeastern Wisconsin, will remain a major center of the paper industry for decades to come.

Georgia-Pacific adds to significant paper industry investment, growth in Green Bay area

Two major projects — the Broadway Mill expansion and Green Bay Packaging Inc.'s new paper mill — have resulted in more than $1 billion of investment in Green Bay. Georgia-Pacific estimates it has invested $1.2 billion in its Green Bay-area operations in the past decade, said President and CEO Christian Fischer.

Ann Franz, executive director of the NEW Manufacturing Alliance, said the automation and technology integrated into the expansion provides a reminder that manufacturing is no longer a dark, dingy industry, but one that employs well-trained, skilled workers.

"This is a great investment in the Green Bay community," Franz said. "It reinforces that (Georgia-Pacific) is here to stay and that careers in manufacturing are alive and well."

Here's a closer look at the mill expansion.

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What's inside the 660,000 square feet added to Georgia-Pacific's Broadway Mill?

The new buildings occupy space formerly used for parking and coal storage, but the company's prior upgrades and investments in the Broadway Mill site helped clear the way for this $550 million investment.

The new, main building along the north end of the mill property stretches from South Broadway to the Fox River. It houses the mill's eighth paper machine, which includes new through air dried (TAD) dryers that will improve softness and absorbency of the products.

The paper machine building connects to additional buildings along the Fox River where three, new converting machines have been in operation since April.

The 2,000 contractors, suppliers and consultants achieved an important construction feat

The two-to-three-year construction project involved the work of more than 2,000 partners like construction contractors, engineering firms, design consultants and specialty firms, said John Nundahl, Georgia-Pacific's vice president of manufacturing in charge of Green Bay operations.

Wesolowski said all of those companies and workers achieved an important feat in the process: No significant injuries were reported during construction.

Broadway Mill expansion adds to Georgia-Pacific's Green Bay-area workforce; jobs still available

The new equipment and production lines incorporate a lot of automation and technology to increase efficiency and with it another 100 jobs.

Georgia-Pacific now employs about 1,700 people at its Green Bay operations and still has jobs to fill at the new mill.

Wesolowski said the company is currently hiring technicians, engineers and maintenance workers.

Contact Jeff Bollier at (920) 431-8387 or jbollier@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JeffBollier.

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Georgia-Pacific's $550 million Green Bay expansion adds 100 new jobs