BRATTLEBORO, VT, — Long Falls Paperboard, the company that this year bought the former Neenah Paper Inc. plant in Brattleboro, is using a $1 million federal grant to study using wood biomass instead of the natural gas that is delivered to the factory in trucks every day.
Brattleboro Development Credit Corp. (BDCC) will use the $1 million grant from the Northern Border Regional Commission to study the feasibility of building a biomass co-generation plant over the next 18 months, said Adam Grinold, executive director of the nonprofit economic development organization.
BDCC – which owns the plant and leases it to Long Falls Paperboard (LFP) — has worked very closely with LFP since before the Washington-based company purchased the business and equipment in January. Neenah announced last year that it planned to close and liquidate the paperboard plant, putting 100 people out of work. BDCC worked with LFP to obtain loans from the Vermont Economic Development Authority and People’s United Bank; secured training and other grants from the state; and worked with a variety of other local entities to help LFP lease the property and keep the business running.