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Planned outage to allow mill to conduct repairs

International Paper’s Riverdale Mill is undergoing routine maintenance for two weeks.

The shutdown began on Monday, according to mill communications manager Arthur Mclean III.

“We are currently holding our annual maintenance outage,” Mclean said. “It will be ongoing for approximately two weeks. People traveling in the area should expect increased traffic near the mill.”

International Paper is the largest employer in Dallas County, with around 750 employees working at the mill. It produces two different paper products in its mill, uncoated freesheet paper (copy paper) and high quality whitetop linerboard and containerboard.

Mclean said this shutdown is planned each year for maintenance.

“Annual maintenance outages are planned events that allow mills and other manufacturing facilities to perform planned maintenance on equipment,” Mclean said. “These outages reduce the potential for unscheduled downtime due to wear and tear on equipment.”

International Paper is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, for the United States. The company employs more than 65,000 and serves customers around the world with operations in more than 30 countries.

In 2017, the company announced a $300 million investment in the Riverdale Mill to convert one of the mills from producing copy paper to linerboard and containerboard. The mill will be celebrating 59 years of operation during the year 2025.