Domtar’s Nekoosa mill in Wisconsin received a 2026 Energy Efficiency Excellence Award from Focus on Energy for projects that reduced energy use, improved operations and generated long-term savings.
Projects completed with the programme’s support in 2024–2025 saved the equivalent of millions of kilowatt-hours and reduced costs by hundreds of thousands of dollars. The savings improved the mill’s competitiveness and made funds available for further investment.
Mill General Manager Craig Helgeson credited the partnership with helping the facility improve efficiency while reducing energy-related expenditure. Wisconsin Public Service Commission Chair Summer Strand highlighted the wider employment, economic and community benefits of energy efficiency investment.
Continuous improvement through an energy team
Focus on Energy is Wisconsin’s statewide energy efficiency and renewable energy initiative. It provides technical expertise, assessments, incentives and other resources to businesses and communities.
At Nekoosa, an energy team meets every two weeks to identify opportunities, assess solutions and advance projects. The mill uses audits, performance assessments, technical support, incentives and rebates as part of this work.
Quality Manager Ben King, who leads the energy team, said local energy advisers helped bring projects to completion. He noted that the programme extended the mill’s energy-reduction budget and provided pulp and paper expertise, supporting measurable energy and financial savings. The team also works to reduce water consumption and operating costs.
An integrated specialty paper mill
The fully integrated Nekoosa mill employs more than 400 people and has an estimated annual economic impact exceeding US$600 million. It produces specialty papers for food packaging, security applications, publishing, functional coating base stocks and other uses, and can generate all the electricity required for its operations.
The mill also recently added a precipitated calcium carbonate plant. The project is intended to improve sustainability and operating efficiency at Nekoosa, Domtar’s Rothschild mill and other Wisconsin paper mills.
The mill’s community activities included eight US$2,000 grants in 2025 through Domtar’s employee-led “$2k Your Way” programme. Supported initiatives covered tree planting, trail maintenance, fire safety education, a Head Start playhouse, urban forestry, skilled trades, public safety, animal welfare and organ-donor recognition.
The local Domtar Connects team took part in more than 25 community events during 2025. Long-standing agreements with the city also allow company land around the mill to be used for recreational parks.
King said the team planned to build on previous improvements and pursue further savings.
