New York- based Mohawk Paper Mill is now the second largest user of wind power for manufacturing in the U.S.
Paper manufacturers are not usually associated with progressive environmental policies — but Mohawk Paper Mills is not a ‘usual’ paper manufacturer. In an era of downsizing and production cuts, Mohawk Paper, a family-owned upstate New York producer of premium printing papers, has been quietly growing market share through product, process, and environmental innovation. The company is well-known for quality among professional designers and printers. (Mohawk papers have graced the covers of every hardcover U.S. edition of Harry Potter, for example.) On June 1, 2005, Mohawk Paper Mills will begin using 45 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of wind power annually to run its two mills in New York and a newly purchased facility in Ohio. With this annual consumption, Mohawk Paper will be a national leader in the use of wind power for manufacturing, second only to Johnson & Johnson, one of the largest consumers of electricity in the United States.
Mohawk Paper Mills are the only paper mills in the U.S. to use wind energy to manufacture paper. Customers can now purchase Mohawk’s process-chlorine-free 100% recycled paper manufactured with wind energy from wind farms in upstate New York and Pennsylvania.
According to George Milner, Mohawk’s Senior Vice President, Energy, Environmental and Governmental Affairs, wind energy now provides 21% of the total power for its two mills in upstate New York and 50% of the annual power required for the Beckett Mill in Ohio. “There is a misconception that choosing the environmentally correct path costs a lot more,” notes Milner, “but with the technological advances in windmills, the cost of wind power is within range of traditional energy sources. And our customers find it a tangible way to express their own commitment to sustainability.”
According to Thomas D. O’Connor, Jr., Mohawk’s Chairman and CEO, “Many U.S. paper mills have moved their production facilities offshore. Mohawk Paper, by contrast, is thriving in New York State and has recently doubled its size through the acquisition of the Fine Papers group from International Paper Company. Our commitment to environmental excellence has sustained — even propelled us — to where we are today. Response to our Wind Power Portfolio has opened up new markets with customers committed to preserving the earth’s natural resources.”
Mohawk Wind Power Portfolio customers include General Electric, Fed Ex/Kinkos and BP Oil. The Sierra Club recently purchased the environmentally friendly paper to use as packaging for distribution of a DVD about the oil drilling controversy in Alaska’s National Wildlife Refuge.
Mohawk Paper Mills, Inc. is the largest manufacturer of premium printing and imaging papers in the country. Mohawk papers are used in a wide variety of communications including annual reports, corporate identity systems, high-end brochures, packaging and everyday communication for businesses of all sizes and types.
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