Page 9 - Tree Line - North Carolina Forestry Association - Second Quarter 2020

The goal of this mini-series is to highlight three aspects of the NCFA’s membership: companies, landowners and ProLoggers from each of
our state’s three distinct regions (Coastal Plain, Piedmont and Mountains). The result will be a showcase of unique aspects of each region that make our membership so diverse; this TreeLine, the second issue of the series, continues with the regionally themed feature stories — this time highlighting the NCFA’s western members.
BY JUSTIN FAIRCLOTH
Rob Elliot started working with Evergreen Packaging in 2013. As the Wood Category Manager for Evergreen Packaging’s Canton,
NC and Pine Bluff, AR mills, he is responsible for the wood procurement teams at both locations. During our interview, Elliot provided a detailed background of both Evergreen Packaging and the historic Canton Mill.
“Evergreen Packaging was founded in 2006 and purchased the former Champion International paper mill in Canton that same year,” he said. “In addition to the Canton paper mill, Evergreen Packaging operates two converting facilities in North Carolina; one in Waynesville and the other in Raleigh.”
Globally, Evergreen has two paper mills and 11 converting facilities. Evergreen Packaging employs nearly 2,000 individuals in North Carolina, with roughly 1,500 of those employees supporting the Canton Mill.
The Cradle of Forestry
Evergreen Packaging’s Canton Mill is one of the oldest paper mills in the
state of North Carolina and played an important role in what we now call “The Cradle of Forestry.” Founded during
the Industrial Age of American history, the Canton Mill has been a staple in
the western North Carolina region for 114 years. The mill, located in the town of Canton in Haywood County, was constructed in 1906, and is situated
on the Pigeon River. Originally, it was built as a sulfite-pulp manufacturing facility as part of the Champion Fibre Company, which was an extension of the Champion Coated Paper Company.
Peter G. Thomson, owner of Champion Coated Paper Company, and his son-in-law Reuben B. Robertson (past President of the NCFA), chose Canton as the location for the company’s
Above: Dr. Carl Schenck teaching
Biltmore Forest School students in the Canton Mill Woodyard – 1910
Left: Railcar pulpwood unloading, Canton Mill Woodyard – 1959
Opposite page: Evergreen Packaging Mill at Canton today.
new facility based on its access to the vast private timberlands of George W. Vanderbilt’s Pisgah Forest. These were timberlands that Gifford Pinchot and Dr. Carl Schenck, the founders of modern scientific forestry, were actively managing for Vanderbilt. (For more about this, see the Biltmore feature on p. 10.)
The abundant spruce, fir and hardwood species, in addition to the high-quality water in the Pigeon River, coupled perfectly with the pulping technology needed to supply Champion Coated Paper Company’s flagship paper
ncforestry.org / SECOND QUARTER 2020 7