Expanded Capabilities, Customer Support And Innovative Products

With paper manufacturers falling by the wayside on an almost daily basis, how does a company like von Drehle continue its remarkable success and growth? In just the last year alone, the von Drehle Corporation has doubled in size to over a million square feet of production area. They purchased a paper mill in Cordova, North Carolina, expanded their converting operations in Las Vegas (Nevada), Maiden (North Carolina), and Memphis (Tennessee). They have added new equipment including a new, fully automated towel and tissue converting line and a single-wrap bath tissue line. They even gave a sizeable portion of the company to their employees – and did it all while improving their already legendary customer support.

"Our company is structured in such a way that we can remain fluid and quickly adjust to changing needs," says Raymond von Drehle, chairman of the von Drehle Corporation. “When an opportunity or challenge arises, we can respond promptly." von Drehle's new Cordova paper mill is one such example.

In order to improve cost effectiveness and run more grades of waste paper, von Drehle will spend approximately $7 million to upgrade their deinking capability. “When that's done, we'll have as good a deinking capability as any mill in the country," says Raymond von Drehle. "We've chosen an environmentally– friendly, chlorine-free bleaching technology that minimizes chemical storage and handling issues," says Joe Pankratz, site manager of the Cordova mill.

Environmental friendliness is important to the von Drehle Corporation - the Cordova mill uses only about one third the industry standard of water, and the new deinking system will conserve even more. When completed, von Drehle's Cordova mill will be able to offer towel and tissue products that are manufactured with 100% recycled fiber and containing as much as 100% post consumer content – far above any EPA or "green" organization standards.