BREWTON, Ala. (WKRG) – It’s the largest employer in Brewton. More than 400 people work in the Georgia-Pacific mill just off of Highway 31. Paper made here goes into products you’ve likely used.

“We service primarily two businesses here right in Brewton. We make bay stock that goes to making our Dixie products. That’s a very familiar brand to folks, our Dixie plates and bowls. We also make what we call a white top liner board and that goes into making a variety of products that people are familiar with. Think pizza boxes, vegetable boxes,” said Mark Martin with Georgia-Pacific.

Large trucks, hoisted into the air, dump wood chips into an underground container. A conveyor belt then transports the chips to be processed into a pulp. That pulp is turned into large paper sheets in 20 ton rolls. It’s then shipped on to make the plates, bowls and boxes you see at home or in the store.

“It ends up making us a complicated facility, but it also ends up making us very competitive because we take the raw materials right here and anything that goes into making our products happens right here on site,” said Martin.

That includes generating enough steam to power the entire Brewton operation. The fifteen-story recovery boiler burns leftovers from the paper-making process. Its 75-mega watt turbine can generate enough electricity for 60,000 homes.

That energy-saving, “green” technology earned the Brewton GP mill an Energy Star certification from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the first-ever for a U.S. integrated pulp and paper mill.

Several other large capital projects coming soon, enabling the plant to make even more products. An investment to keep the operation competitive and the workforce stable for years to come is their goal.

“For Brewton, being that best employer, being that best community partner is something that we hold near and dear to us,” Martin added.