Collins, King Applaud Old Town Mill Economic Redevelopment Effort

WASHINGTON, D.C.  – U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King today applauded the announcement that OTM Holdings, LLC (OTM) has purchased the Old Town pulp mill complex with plans to redevelop the site and spur economic development in Penobscot County.

            “The planned redevelopment of the Old Town Mill will bolster Maine’s rural economy by encouraging growth and helping to create jobs,” Senators Collins and King said in a joint statement. “By leveraging our state’s natural resources, building on our traditional industries, and supporting new, innovative ideas, we can help ensure a vibrant economy in Maine’s rural communities.”

The redevelopment of the mill site by OTM aims to harness the mill’s energy potential and the Penobscot region’s significant wood fiber resources to build a fully integrated fiber-based campus, including the development of advanced biobased industries. A portion of the complex already houses the University of Maine’s Forest Bioproducts Research Institute (FBRI) Technology Research Center, which occupies a 40,000 square foot research facility in the mill’s warehouse.

The announcement builds on the strategies outlined in the January 2017 assessment from the Economic Development Assessment Team (EDAT) – originally requested in March 2016 by Senators Collins and King – which outlined steps to leverage resources to redevelop former industrial sites and support the viability of impacted mill communities to grow Maine’s rural economy.

 
OTM is a joint venture by a Maine-based group of companies committed to the revitalization of Maine’s forest-based industry.