Savannah River Paper Mill, Georgia

This paper mill, several miles north of Savannah, is one of the largest tissue plants in the country. It opened in 1986, built by the Fort Howard Paper Company, and was purchased by Georgia-Pacific in 2002. The facility is on a 2.000 acre site, and has 75 acres under one roof. Inside are five of the twelve largest tissue paper machines in the country, according to the company. Almost 1,000 people work at the plant, making toilet paper, paper towels, and napkins, mostly from recycled waste paper. Some of them are “at home” products, meaning for consumers, under brands like Quilted Northern. Similar products are made for the “away from home” market, meaning for commercial customers, such as janitorial and service companies supplying restaurants, airports, offices, schools, and other institutional end users. The Mill is one of around a dozen large paper plants operated by the Georgia-Pacific Company, often ranked as the second largest paper producer in the US. It is based in Atlanta, and owned by the Koch brothers (Koch Industries) since 2005. GP started out as a lumber company, and it still is. It moved into paper production by opening a massive pulp and paper mill in Toledo, Oregon in the 1950s, then expanding further by acquisitions. Its purchase of the Fort James Corporation in 2000 moved it deeper into toilet paper and paper towel production, including the widely distributed Quilted Northern and Brawny brands, as well as the Dixie brand of paper plates and cups.