Former Mead paper mill to be shut down in Chillicothe

The mill has a history that stretches back to the 19th century. In 1890, it was purchased by Colonel Daniel Mead, of Dayton.

Mead ran a prospering and global paper business for decades until the market altered dramatically. In 2002, what was Mead Corp. merged with Westvaco in a $3 billion stock deal.

The headquarters of what became MeadWestvaco was moved from Dayton to Connecticut, and later to Richmond Va., although the Mead name continued to be printed on many notebooks, binders and other products for a time.

In 2011, after about six months of talks, MeadWestvaco announced that it was spinning off its Mead consumer and office products division to Lincolnshire, Ill.-based ACCO Brands, which had offices in Kettering.

At one point, MeadWestvaco had four paper mills, not counting the Chillicothe operation.

“This was an extremely difficult decision. We value our Chillicothe team and the contributions they have made to Pixelle,” Ross Bushnell, Pixelle’s president and chief executive, said in a statement on the mill’s closure.

The Chillicothe mill closure will allow Pixelle to focus its remaining operations in Spring Grove, Pa. and Fremont, Ohio and “maintain its competitive position in the specialty paper market,” the company said.