MANISTIQUE, MI-- The Michigan Strategic Fund has approved support for the UP Paper mill in Manistique.
The Michigan Economic Development Corporation announced this week a $1.9 million award that will enable a $4.25 million working capital line of credit from Crestmark, a division of Meta Bank.
The mill has been part of the area’s economy since 1920. It was forced to close in 2015, but reopened as a manufacturer of recycled paper in 2016. It employs 97 people and has a yearly economic impact of about $30 million annually. Mill officials say the award will allow them to hire four new full-time employees in the next six months and four more within the next two years.
In August MEDC CEO Jeff Mason toured the facility, along with Representatives Sara Cambensy and Scott Dianda, Senator Tom Casperson, Schoolcraft County Economic Development Corporation executive director Alan Barr, and others.
