Barge delivers last major equipment to Broadway Mill for Georgia-Pacific's $550 million expansion

Becky Jacobs, Green Bay Press-Gazette

GREEN BAY — A barge delivered the last major pieces of equipment Friday to the Broadway Mill for Georgia-Pacific's more than $550 million expansion project in Green Bay.

The mill already made recycled tissue products for the away-from-home market that would people would find in restaurants, hotels, airports and other similar locations.

The expansion will allow the facility to also produce Brawny paper towels and other premium private level brands, according to Georgia-Pacific.

A dryer hood is moved off of a barge on Friday at the Georgia-Pacific Broadway mill in Green Bay. The barge delivered a Yankee dryer, TAD dryers and hoods for the mill's Brawny expansion project.
A dryer hood is moved off of a barge on Friday at the Georgia-Pacific Broadway mill in Green Bay. The barge delivered a Yankee dryer, TAD dryers and hoods for the mill's Brawny expansion project.

Construction began in July 2022, and it's expected to be done next year.

On Friday morning, a barge carried a new Yankee dyer, through air dried (TAD) dryers and hoods to the mill, at 1919 S. Broadway along the Fox River.

The equipment's arrival marked "a big milestone," Dean Wesolowski, the expansion's operations manager, said in a news release. “Given this, we expect to start up the new paper machine sometime during the first half of 2024.”

A Yankee dryer is unloaded off a barge Friday at Georgia-Pacific's Broadway Mill in Green Bay. The equipment, made by Valmet, left Sweden in October and passed through Milwaukee before arriving in Green Bay.
A Yankee dryer is unloaded off a barge Friday at Georgia-Pacific's Broadway Mill in Green Bay. The equipment, made by Valmet, left Sweden in October and passed through Milwaukee before arriving in Green Bay.

More: $550 million expansion at Broadway Mill is less than a year away from being done

Georgia-Pacific is adding an eighth paper machine at the Broadway site, which uses TAD technology to create "improved softness and absorbency," according to a November update from the company.

The expansion spans roughly 600,000 square feet, with multiple connected buildings. It stretches from South Broadway down to the river and wraps around the mill.

A barge docked on Friday at the Georgia-Pacific Broadway Mill in Green Bay. The barge delivered a Yankee dryer, TAD dryers and hoods for the mill's Brawny expansion project.
A barge docked on Friday at the Georgia-Pacific Broadway Mill in Green Bay. The barge delivered a Yankee dryer, TAD dryers and hoods for the mill's Brawny expansion project.

Last month, Georgia-Pacific said last major structural beam was added.

The company expects to add at least 100 new jobs to the mill's 850 current employees.

Weighing about 150 tons, the Yankee dryer delivered Friday was by made by Valmet in Sweden, according to Georgia-Pacific. Valmet also manufactured the TAD dryers at its facility in Maine, according to a news release.

The Yankee dryer left Sweden in September and arrived in Milwaukee on Oct. 23, Georgia-Pacific said. It was loaded on the barge carrying the TAD dryers from Maine on Dec. 6, and all the pieces arrived at the Broadway Mill for unloading Friday, according to the company.

Reach Becky Jacobs at bjacobs@gannett.com or 920-993-7117. Follow her on Twitter at @ruthyjacobs.

A TAD dryer arrives at Georgia-Pacific's Broadway Mill on Friday in Green Bay. The equipment was made by Valmet in Maine, and it is part of Georgia-Pacific's more than $550 million expansion project.
A TAD dryer arrives at Georgia-Pacific's Broadway Mill on Friday in Green Bay. The equipment was made by Valmet in Maine, and it is part of Georgia-Pacific's more than $550 million expansion project.

This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Georgia-Pacific receives machinery for Green Bay mill expansion

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