Mike Haws

At Sappi’s Somerset Mill, we’re undertaking a monumental construction project to transform and expand Paper Machine No. 2. With an investment exceeding $400 million, this initiative — the largest rebuild project in Sappi Limited’s history — will double PM2’s production capacity and enable the mill to manufacture more sustainable SBS (solid bleached sulfate) paperboard for packaging products that are more environmentally sustainable alternatives to single-use plastics. The project builds on our earlier $200 million investment in 2018, which expanded Paper Machine No. 1 and upgraded the mill’s woodyard. The scale of this endeavor is staggering. For context, the Empire State Building rests on 210 foundation columns sunk 55 feet into Manhattan bedrock. In contrast, PM2’s new machine hall and winder are supported by 205 columns driven 80 feet into Maine’s granite bedrock.