In October 2022, we evacuated our Menominee (Michigan) pulp mill as a major fire burned for 16 days through the densely packed bales of recovered paper, stored for manufacture into 100% recycled bleached kraft (RBK) pulp, in a warehouse space we lease from a third party. The facility resumed production four months after its 100 employees were allowed back in.
And last week, mill general manager Todd Clausen accepted the Employer of the Year award from the Marinette Menominee Area Chamber of Commerce and Michigan Works! at the annual awards ceremony.
Working together
Clausen told the assembled crowd what it was like to rebuild. He recalled employees asking each other for the most basic workplace necessities. “Paper, pens, flashlights and crescent wrenches: Items that were once taken for granted had now become precious commodities,” he said.
The employees worked together to ensure no one was injured in the fire. While the mill was idled, Resolute continued to pay its employees, and when it reopened, their hard work and commitment was on full display.
Supporting the community
Despite the fire, in December 2022 the Menominee mill reached 2 million hours without a single recordable injury – a first at Resolute. In recognition of their remarkable achievement spanning almost a decade, the employees were granted US$15,000 through the company’s Safety Award Program to donate to local charitable causes. They chose to distribute the reward among five volunteer firefighting departments that helped battle the fire.
Our employees also earned a safety award in 2021 for achieving 1,750,000 injury-free hours, donating $10,000 to a local organization that provides nutritional support to 200 school-aged children, and $5,000 to the local police’s canine unit.
By combining safety and community support, Menominee is continuing to build a workplace every employee can be proud of.
