The mill in Isle of Wight County employs about 800 workers, down from 1,100 in October when International Paper announced that it was closing.

The guy who ran for governor is turning to the guy who won for help on a jobs project for economically ravaged Southside Virginia. Terry McAuliffe, defeated for the 2009 Democratic nomination, met privately yesterday with Gov. Bob McDonnell to discuss McAuliffe’s proposal to purchase a soon-to-close paper mill in Isle of Wight County, refitting it as a wood-fired power plant.

More than 15 potential buyers have expressed interest in International Paper Co.‘s paper mill in Isle of Wight County, Gov. Bob McDonnell said yesterday.

Terry McAuliffe, an unsuccesssful candidate for governor in 2009, is in the running again—this time, to buy a soon-to-close Southside paper factory he wants to convert to a wood-fired power plant.

A worker at International Paper’s Lynchburg plant has died from injuries suffered in an accident.

About 120 workers who lost their jobs when a lumber mill in Franklin closed are eligible for federal assistance.

Franklin, Va. grapples with the loss of its paper mill and 1,000 jobs after International Paper announces plans to close.

More than any other of the industrial cities and towns that dot Southside Virginia, Franklin is a company town. Just about everyone and everything in and around the city has a vital connection to the paper mill on the Blackwater River.

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine met privately yesterday with workers at the International Paper Co. plant in Isle of Wight County, pledging help for the 1,100 employees facing unemployment as the plant shuts down by next spring.

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine is headed to Franklin this afternoon to meet with community leaders and employees at International Paper, an economic mainstay that announced last week it was closing its mill in Isle of Wight County.

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., says he’ll try to convince International Paper to reconsider its decision to shut down its plant in Franklin, which would put 1,100 people out of work.

There is no silver lining to news that International Paper will close its plant in Franklin. The mill employed about 1,100 workers. As the company explains, the closure has nothing to do with the quality and dedication of the work force but is a consequence of market conditions. Situations such as this inflict pain wherever they occur; they prove particularly devastating for communities such as Franklin and Isle of Wight. The IP mill forms a cornerstone of the local economy. The lost jobs will not be readily replaced. Businesses that depend on the patronage of International Paper’s employees will suffer.

Struck nine years ago by devastating floods from Hurricane Floyd, Franklin and the surrounding region now contemplate a future without the area’s longtime economic lynchpin.

International Paper’s Franklin mill The Franklin operation was started by the Camp family as a sawmill in 1887. International Paper acquired the mill in 1999, as part of its $7.9 billion acquisition of Union Camp. The shutdown starts Nov. 7, when the No. 6 paper machine is idled. The paperboard operation closes by year’s end—it is a 140,000-ton-a-year operation. The paper operation closes by spring—it is a 600,000-ton-a-year business, with three machines. 8,292—population of Franklin in 2008 34,374—population of Isle of Wight County in 2008 19,262—population of Southampton County in 2008 The Franklin mill is one of the company’s 22 paper mills, including nine foreign mills, and is one of the company’s 21 containerboard mills, including seven foreign mills.

International Paper will close its lumber mill in Franklin at the end of next month, idling 123 workers, because of the continuing downturn in the homebuilding industry, the company announced yesterday. IP also will cut a total of 35 jobs by summer from two of its other Franklin operations, a sheet converting plant and a converting innovation center, in response to shrinking orders from customers, said Desmond Stills, a company spokesman in Franklin.