American Eagle – 10 Year Anniversary

In mid-October American Eagle Paper Mills located in Tyrone, Blair County, PA, celebrated their 10 year anniversary.

The mill was formerly owned and operated by MeadWestvaco for over 100 years until it was shuttered in October of 2001. The facility was purchased by Team Ten, LLC, a group of key former managers and local investors in September of 2003. Just two months after the purchase on November 14, 2003 the first roll of recycled paper was produced at the new American Eagle Paper Mills.

“The mill closing was a catastrophic event,” said Pat Stoner, former mayor of Tyrone. “Men and women were suddenly out of a job and shrouded in insecurity of how to provide for their families. When the mill reopened, it was like a black cloud had been lifted from our community.”

Team Ten, actually comprised of 12 people, was led by John Ferner, who had worked at the mill for 28 years when it was shut down. “We put together a group of very experienced people who had been there before, who could get it up and running,” said Ferner, who retired as president of Team Ten in December 2012.

During the two months from purchase to operations Team Ten had to hire and train 175 employees, put in a computer system and get all of the equipment up and running. It took a collaborative effort from the entire community purchase the mill and get it up and running. Today the mill employs about 260 people and that number is expected to grow.

Altoona-Blair County Development Corp. played a key role in the efforts to revitalize the former MeadWestvaco mill. ABCD Corp. served as the coordinator/catalyst and helped to secure funding for the project. “The real heroes are the former management and investors who make up Team Ten,” said Marty Marasco, President/CEO
of ABCD Corp. “We are very proud of what was accomplished through everyone’s efforts and appreciative of Team Ten’s commitment to the region.”

Clark Adelman, Team Ten Secretary/Treasurer, praised Marasco for his efforts. “Marty was the force behind this. Marty is the gem of this community. People are not aware how important he was in bringing these jobs to the community,” Adelman said.

Over the next 18 months the mill hopes to add more crews and bring their employment number up to 275. “One thing about this area is the quality of the workforce.

There is a ‘can do’ type of attitude,” said Mike Grimm, Pres/CEO. “We are successful because of our employees and their hard work that gets done every single day.”

The reopening of the

mill has been beneficial to the local economy as well. Over the past ten years the mill has generated $100 million in wages and invested in excess of $50 million into the facility. Currently the mill is planning the construction of a 48,000-square-foot warehouse representing an additional $3 million investment.

“We are positioned to continue our legacy of success. We need

to make smart decisions and be more creative than our competitors,” Grimm said.