Domtar is celebrating the over one million hours conducted without a lost-time incident.

Domtar’s conversion project construction continues to turn the former paper manufacturer into a mill that creates containerboard material for cardboard boxes.

Domtar is celebrating the over one million hours conducted without a lost-time incident.

KINGSPORT — Staying on schedule is a priority for Domtar’s ongoing conversion project. It’s also the reason the company is celebrating the more than one million hours worked by Domtar’s onsite construction partners without a lost-time incident.

Domtar’s conversion project construction continues to turn the former paper manufacturer into a mill that creates containerboard material for cardboard boxes.

Forty various contract companies have been part of the over one million construction works hours conducted without a lost-time incident at Domtar’s Kingsport mill, the company announced in a press release. According to Domtar, the one million- hour mark includes time worked since the conversion project began in the fall of 2020.

“We go through an extensive pre-screening process to ensure we do business with companies that are highly focused on safety,” said Charlie Floyd, Domtar’s vice president of packaging capital projects, in the release. “We choose to work with companies that exhibit a strong culture and hold themselves to the same standards, goals and objectives that we do.”

The Management and Construction Solutions Inc. team has been integral in the achievement, the release said.

MACS has been onsite with three dedicated safety coordinators and has worked to see that safety procedures are followed and standards are upheld.

“I’m really proud of the team that we have here,” Floyd said. “I’ll tip my hat to my buddies at MACS. They’re responsible for ensuring everyone on site is always exhibiting the appropriate safety behaviors, and they’re on top of it every day.”

Domtar’s conversion project is set to turn the former paper manufacturer into a mill that creates containerboard material for cardboard boxes. The containerboard operations at Domtar will turn old corrugated cardboard bales into the new product that will form different grades of paper to create cardboard boxes. Domtar will convert roughly 680,000 tons of OCC a year.

Once the Kingsport mill’s conversion is complete, it will have the capacity to produce and market nearly 600,000 tons of high-quality recycled linerboard and corrugated medium each year, making it the second-largest recycled containerboard machine in North America.

As the project nears completion — which is expected by the end of 2022 — Mill Manager Troy Wilson said he believes sustaining the mill’s strong safety performance will be even more important.

“The real test is still to come as we approach start up,” Wilson said in the release. “Contractors have families and long-term goals just as our own employees do, and we all deserve to work in a safe environment. We have a great team here. As long as we all continue to do our part, we can make sure we complete the project safely.”

For more information and project updates, go online to www.domtarpackagingkingsport.com.

Domtar's parent company, The Paper Excellence Group, recently entered an agreement to purchase Resolute Forest Products.

As Kingsport is in the process of opening several recycling drop-off points, two of the city's major employers are helping lead the charge in paper and plastics recycling.

Domtar’s conversion project is on schedule to wrap up by the end of the year. Most recently, the company dubbed its new bridge in honor of Marty Barfield, a former mill manager who died in 2020.

Domtar has faced supply chain obstacles, but is on track with its convergence project taking the site from paper manufacturer to containerboard material mill for cardboard boxes.

Sen. Bill Hagerty made his first stop in Kingsport since taking office and toured Domtar in Kingsport.

Domtar's Kingsport mill has been downtown since 1916 and its conversion from fine paper to container board production will keep it here for another 100 years.

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