Manistique Paper Mill
Situated on the banks of the Indian River in Schoolcraft County, Manistique, Michigan sits the Manistique Paper Mill. The Manistique Pulp and Paper Company was started in 1916 by the owner of the Minneapolis Tribune and construction of the mill commenced that same year. Due to various setbacks the mill did not start producing paper until 1920. Wood pulp was purchased from in and around Manistique which promoted additional industry throughout the area. In 1943, the Mead Corp. purchased the mill from the Minneapolis Tribune. The Mead Corporation also owned another paper mill in the area, the Escanaba Paper Mill in Escanaba, Michigan. During their ownership, Mead invested large sums of money into the mill making renovations and purchasing new equipment.
The mill’s modern era began in 1952 when it was sold to Kearney Interests and renamed Manistique Papers, Inc. Following its 1960 acquisition by Field Enterprises, the mill began a decades-long transition toward sustainability. By 1984 it had officially discontinued wood processing to focus exclusively on 100% recycled paper production. Subsequent owners have included Kruger Inc. (1991) and Remark Paper Co. (2006).
In 2011, the mill experienced hardships and was forced to enter bankruptcy. Many were hopeful when in 2012, the Watermill Group acquired the mill and renamed it to FutureMark Manistique. However, in 2015, FutureMark announced that it was ceasing operations, closing the plant and laying off all of the workers. The mill would sit vacant for short period of time until a local group purchased the mill re-opening it as UP Paper LLC in 2016.
Throughout most of its life the Manistique Paper Mill has produced groundwood pulp/newsprint paper. With the various additions that its owners have made throughout the years it has evolved to produce approximately 130,000 tons per year of uncoated printing and writing grades from 100% recycled materials. FutureMark/Watermill would further expand the mills offerings by adding the production of Kraft paper in 2011. Initially the mill was a fully integrated mill with both a pulp mill and paper machines. Since 1984 it has purchased recycled paper and processed it into pulp.
Due to the papermaking process a lot of steam, electricity and heat is required. The steam is generally produced by a number of boilers, and the steam is sent to turbines to generate electricity and the various production departments to cook the pulp and run machinery such as the paper machines.
The powerhouse had two steam generating boilers and one electrical generating steam operated turbine. The boilers had stokers and ash handling equipment for stoking the boilers with coal and removing the ash produced by burning the coal. There was also one hot water supply boiler on the premises. Other powerhouse equipment included deaerators, condensers, feedwater systems, heat exchangers, fans, pumps, valves and compressors. In addition to the two steam generating boilers there was also one hot water supply boiler at the plant. There were also steam powered turbines that drove pumps, paper machines, and other equipment.
Asbestos Exposure at Manistique Paper Mill
Asbestos exposure in paper mills occurs through construction and equipment maintenance. Since pulping, recovery, and boiler operations involve high heat and steam asbestos was used to insulate boilers, piping systems, turbines and other vessels, which maintenance and production workers often encountered. Maintenance personnel were also at a high risk of exposure because asbestos gaskets, hoses, packing and other materials were present in the mill machinery that they were required to inspect and repair. The various materials used to build paper mills such as industrial adhesives, ceiling and floor tiles, insulated piping contained asbestos, and if workers encountered deteriorating materials, they may have been exposed to and inhaled asbestos fibers.
Maintenance workers were not the only paper mill employees at risk of asbestos exposure. Just working inside the plant posed a threat to asbestos exposure because the large amount of asbestos dust that collected in the air could be inhaled by any worker in the plant.
Production workers also were exposed during the making of the paper on the machines which included a drying process where asbestos containing dryer felts or fabrics are used to enhance the production of high-speed paper machines. After the pulp passes through the initial chemical and mechanical processing stages, the paper product is run through the paper machine, and the dryer sections remove the leftover moisture. During daily routine operations and maintenance, asbestos dust was released from dryer felts in dryer machines. When the dryer felts had to be replaced, workers were exposed to asbestos particles when they hand cut and fitted the new felt into the machines. The paper machine sections are often run by steam turbines which drive line shafts. Each line shaft has a brake and clutch system.
Once these fibers are inhaled, they can become lodged in organ tissues and remain there throughout a worker’s life. The accumulation of these fibers can cause fibrosis and scarring that lead to the development of mesothelioma and other asbestos-related illnesses 10 – 40 years later. Even if you smoked you may be entitled to compensation if you are suffering from an asbestos related disease.
Occupations at Risk for Asbestos Exposure, Manistique Paper Mill
- Maintenance: Construction and Maintenance Mechanics, Electricians, Insulators, Machinists, Oilers, Painters, Pipefitters, Welders and other trades. They construct, maintain, and repair the equipment throughout the plant.
- Powerhouse: Boiler and Turbine Operators, and Maintenance Men, they operate and monitor the boilers, turbines, condensers, and compressors.
- Material Handling: Hi-Lo Operators, Crane Operators, Equipment Operators, Laborers, Sludge Operators and Tractor Operators. They handle and move the logs, chips, and sludge for the mill.
- Wood Processing: Chipman, Chip Plant Operator, Liquors Mixer, Operators, and Utility Workers. They operate and monitor the chipper and send processed wood to pulp mill.
- Pulp Mill: Effluent Treater, Pulp Operator and Secondary Treatment. They cook the wood chips into pulp and treat it with chemicals.
- Paper Mill Machine: Back Tender, Beater Room Operator and Helper, Brakeman, Paper Machine Tender. They take the pulp and turn it into paper through the various sections on the paper machine.
- Shipping: Car loader, Power Trucker, Trackmobile Operator and Weigher. Prepare the paper for shipping to customers.
- Maintenance Foreman and Supervisors: They schedule and supervise the maintenance and repair of the papermill buildings and equipment.
- Truck and Tractor Operators: They operate truck and or tractors to move raw materials (forest logs), chips and equipment in the mill.
- First Line Supervisors/Managers Production and Operating Workers: They directly supervise and coordinate production and operations employees (Precision Workers, Inspectors, Machine Setters and Operators, Assemblers, Fabricators, and Plant and System Operators.
- Industrial Production Managers: They plan, coordinate, or direct the manufacturing process.
- Engineers – They coordinate, plan and schedule construction and maintenance projects.
Asbestos was used in products such as paper machine dryer felts, pipe coverings, chemical pipe, building materials, insulation, gaskets, packing and brakes used in paper mill machinery in mills that were built between the 1900s and 1970s. Asbestos was also used in insulation and could be found in cement blocks, cements and pipe covering used on boilers, blowers, condensers, digesters, evaporators, heat exchangers, piping, pumps, and turbines.
Equipment at Manistique Paper Mill that contained asbestos include: boilers, compressors, heat exchangers, fans, stokers, paper machines, turbines, pumps, valves and also had asbestos-containing materials including brakes, dryer felts, gaskets, packing, steam hoses and joints.
Why Does it Matter Manistique Paper Mill is in our Job site Database?
Munising Paper Mill is one of tens of thousands of jobsites in our database.
In order to successfully pursue an asbestos claim, your lawyer needs to be familiar with the jobsites you worked at, including:
- the companies that employed you,
- the products they purchased and used, and
- the companies who produced those products;
- depositions, testimony of other asbestos disease victims
- documentation from the Plant and Defendants
After more than 40 years pioneering asbestos litigation, we have a vast knowledgebase covering things such as company diagrams, invoices from asbestos product manufacturers, revealing company memos demonstrating their knowledge of the risks, asbestos product packaging through the years, depositions from leading experts, and medical and scientific literature dating from the late 1800s to the current day.
Being familiar with many different industries, manufacturers, and products means we can efficiently and effectively identify all the asbestos containing products that contributed to your injury. It’s a breadth of knowledge gained from years of experience representing victims of asbestos exposure.
If you or a loved one have questions regarding asbestos exposure at Manistique Paper Mill or anywhere in Manistique, we have Michigan-based and licensed lawyers with over 50 combined years of experience that would be able to assist you. Attorneys John Kelsey and John Pomerville have been representing Michigan asbestos victims in the lower and upper peninsulas for over 25 years.
If you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma call Goldberg, Persky & White, to preserve your legal rights as this is a time sensitive matter and knowing the facts will help you make the best medical and legal decisions possible and help you recover financial compensation for medical expenses, lost wages and pain and suffering.
Manistique Paper Mill
Situated on the banks of the Indian River in Schoolcraft County, Manistique, Michigan sits the Manistique Paper Mill. The Manistique Pulp and Paper Company was started in 1916 by the owner of the Minneapolis Tribune and construction of the mill commenced that same year. Due to various setbacks the mill did not start producing paper until 1920. Wood pulp was purchased from in and around Manistique which promoted additional industry throughout the area. In 1943, the Mead Corp. purchased the mill from the Minneapolis Tribune. The Mead Corporation also owned another paper mill in the area, the Escanaba Paper Mill in Escanaba, Michigan. During their ownership, Mead invested large sums of money into the mill making renovations and purchasing new equipment.
The mill’s modern era began in 1952 when it was sold to Kearney Interests and renamed Manistique Papers, Inc. Following its 1960 acquisition by Field Enterprises, the mill began a decades-long transition toward sustainability. By 1984 it had officially discontinued wood processing to focus exclusively on 100% recycled paper production. Subsequent owners have included Kruger Inc. (1991) and Remark Paper Co. (2006).
In 2011, the mill experienced hardships and was forced to enter bankruptcy. Many were hopeful when in 2012, the Watermill Group acquired the mill and renamed it to FutureMark Manistique. However, in 2015, FutureMark announced that it was ceasing operations, closing the plant and laying off all of the workers. The mill would sit vacant for short period of time until a local group purchased the mill re-opening it as UP Paper LLC in 2016.
Throughout most of its life the Manistique Paper Mill has produced groundwood pulp/newsprint paper. With the various additions that its owners have made throughout the years it has evolved to produce approximately 130,000 tons per year of uncoated printing and writing grades from 100% recycled materials. FutureMark/Watermill would further expand the mills offerings by adding the production of Kraft paper in 2011. Initially the mill was a fully integrated mill with both a pulp mill and paper machines. Since 1984 it has purchased recycled paper and processed it into pulp.
Due to the papermaking process a lot of steam, electricity and heat is required. The steam is generally produced by a number of boilers, and the steam is sent to turbines to generate electricity and the various production departments to cook the pulp and run machinery such as the paper machines.
The powerhouse had two steam generating boilers and one electrical generating steam operated turbine. The boilers had stokers and ash handling equipment for stoking the boilers with coal and removing the ash produced by burning the coal. There was also one hot water supply boiler on the premises. Other powerhouse equipment included deaerators, condensers, feedwater systems, heat exchangers, fans, pumps, valves and compressors. In addition to the two steam generating boilers there was also one hot water supply boiler at the plant. There were also steam powered turbines that drove pumps, paper machines, and other equipment.
Asbestos Exposure at Manistique Paper Mill
Asbestos exposure in paper mills occurs through construction and equipment maintenance. Since pulping, recovery, and boiler operations involve high heat and steam asbestos was used to insulate boilers, piping systems, turbines and other vessels, which maintenance and production workers often encountered. Maintenance personnel were also at a high risk of exposure because asbestos gaskets, hoses, packing and other materials were present in the mill machinery that they were required to inspect and repair. The various materials used to build paper mills such as industrial adhesives, ceiling and floor tiles, insulated piping contained asbestos, and if workers encountered deteriorating materials, they may have been exposed to and inhaled asbestos fibers.
Maintenance workers were not the only paper mill employees at risk of asbestos exposure. Just working inside the plant posed a threat to asbestos exposure because the large amount of asbestos dust that collected in the air could be inhaled by any worker in the plant.
Production workers also were exposed during the making of the paper on the machines which included a drying process where asbestos containing dryer felts or fabrics are used to enhance the production of high-speed paper machines. After the pulp passes through the initial chemical and mechanical processing stages, the paper product is run through the paper machine, and the dryer sections remove the leftover moisture. During daily routine operations and maintenance, asbestos dust was released from dryer felts in dryer machines. When the dryer felts had to be replaced, workers were exposed to asbestos particles when they hand cut and fitted the new felt into the machines. The paper machine sections are often run by steam turbines which drive line shafts. Each line shaft has a brake and clutch system.
Once these fibers are inhaled, they can become lodged in organ tissues and remain there throughout a worker’s life. The accumulation of these fibers can cause fibrosis and scarring that lead to the development of mesothelioma and other asbestos-related illnesses 10 – 40 years later. Even if you smoked you may be entitled to compensation if you are suffering from an asbestos related disease.
Occupations at Risk for Asbestos Exposure, Manistique Paper Mill
- Maintenance: Construction and Maintenance Mechanics, Electricians, Insulators, Machinists, Oilers, Painters, Pipefitters, Welders and other trades. They construct, maintain, and repair the equipment throughout the plant.
- Powerhouse: Boiler and Turbine Operators, and Maintenance Men, they operate and monitor the boilers, turbines, condensers, and compressors.
- Material Handling: Hi-Lo Operators, Crane Operators, Equipment Operators, Laborers, Sludge Operators and Tractor Operators. They handle and move the logs, chips, and sludge for the mill.
- Wood Processing: Chipman, Chip Plant Operator, Liquors Mixer, Operators, and Utility Workers. They operate and monitor the chipper and send processed wood to pulp mill.
- Pulp Mill: Effluent Treater, Pulp Operator and Secondary Treatment. They cook the wood chips into pulp and treat it with chemicals.
- Paper Mill Machine: Back Tender, Beater Room Operator and Helper, Brakeman, Paper Machine Tender. They take the pulp and turn it into paper through the various sections on the paper machine.
- Shipping: Car loader, Power Trucker, Trackmobile Operator and Weigher. Prepare the paper for shipping to customers.
- Maintenance Foreman and Supervisors: They schedule and supervise the maintenance and repair of the papermill buildings and equipment.
- Truck and Tractor Operators: They operate truck and or tractors to move raw materials (forest logs), chips and equipment in the mill.
- First Line Supervisors/Managers Production and Operating Workers: They directly supervise and coordinate production and operations employees (Precision Workers, Inspectors, Machine Setters and Operators, Assemblers, Fabricators, and Plant and System Operators.
- Industrial Production Managers: They plan, coordinate, or direct the manufacturing process.
- Engineers – They coordinate, plan and schedule construction and maintenance projects.
Asbestos was used in products such as paper machine dryer felts, pipe coverings, chemical pipe, building materials, insulation, gaskets, packing and brakes used in paper mill machinery in mills that were built between the 1900s and 1970s. Asbestos was also used in insulation and could be found in cement blocks, cements and pipe covering used on boilers, blowers, condensers, digesters, evaporators, heat exchangers, piping, pumps, and turbines.
Equipment at Manistique Paper Mill that contained asbestos include: boilers, compressors, heat exchangers, fans, stokers, paper machines, turbines, pumps, valves and also had asbestos-containing materials including brakes, dryer felts, gaskets, packing, steam hoses and joints.
Why Does it Matter Manistique Paper Mill is in our Job site Database?
Munising Paper Mill is one of tens of thousands of jobsites in our database.
In order to successfully pursue an asbestos claim, your lawyer needs to be familiar with the jobsites you worked at, including:
- the companies that employed you,
- the products they purchased and used, and
- the companies who produced those products;
- depositions, testimony of other asbestos disease victims
- documentation from the Plant and Defendants
After more than 40 years pioneering asbestos litigation, we have a vast knowledgebase covering things such as company diagrams, invoices from asbestos product manufacturers, revealing company memos demonstrating their knowledge of the risks, asbestos product packaging through the years, depositions from leading experts, and medical and scientific literature dating from the late 1800s to the current day.
Being familiar with many different industries, manufacturers, and products means we can efficiently and effectively identify all the asbestos containing products that contributed to your injury. It’s a breadth of knowledge gained from years of experience representing victims of asbestos exposure.
If you or a loved one have questions regarding asbestos exposure at Manistique Paper Mill or anywhere in Manistique, we have Michigan-based and licensed lawyers with over 50 combined years of experience that would be able to assist you. Attorneys John Kelsey and John Pomerville have been representing Michigan asbestos victims in the lower and upper peninsulas for over 25 years.
If you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma call Goldberg, Persky & White, to preserve your legal rights as this is a time sensitive matter and knowing the facts will help you make the best medical and legal decisions possible and help you recover financial compensation for medical expenses, lost wages and pain and suffering.