Clearwater Paper, at huge North Las Vegas paper plant
Today, the North Las Vegas plant is among a network of about 15 locations nationwide and the second-most advanced after a plant near Charlotte, North Carolina.
Today, the North Las Vegas plant is among a network of about 15 locations nationwide and the second-most advanced after a plant near Charlotte, North Carolina.
Up to 50 truckloads of paper products, including napkins and facial tissues, leave the plant a day for store shelves. The plant runs 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Paper products are delivered to retailers within about 500 miles of the plant. Turn over a roll at a local grocery store, and you might see an “LV” that proves the roll came from Clearwater’s local plant.
Decades into its existence, the plant still has room for improvement and investment from its parent company, known as one of the largest makers of tissue sold under various brand names in grocery stores across the United States. These brands’ contracts with Clearwater bar the papermaker from talking publicly about them.
Clearwater, based in Spokane, Washington, completed McSherry’s machine in 2004, with upgrades over the years. The machine produced 34,000 tons of tissue in 2016. It’s so important that a November fire at the plant that downed the machine for about 17 days caused net earnings in the fourth quarter of 2016 to drop about 20 percent year over year, according to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Clearwater received a total insurance claim of $3.3 million for repairs and lost profits.
The company continues to add new robots to its facility to aid in transportation of paper rolls that can weigh more than 2 tons around the 750,000-square-foot building near the intersection of Alexander Road and Fifth Street. Some of the robots are so advanced that they change their own batteries, said Gary Blosl, senior manager of finance for the North Las Vegas plant.
Source: Wade Tyler Millward Las Vegas Review-Journal
