River Valley Paper Company
The move brings their processing operations closer to their regional sales office, which has been a part of the Nassau County community for 10 years. The company also has a processing facility in Kalamazoo, Michigan and markets recovered paper throughout North America, and exports worldwide.
“Our existing businesses are crucial to the success of our county’s economy. This is by definition economic gardening at its best. Fernandina Beach has been the home to River Valley Paper Company’s sales office for the past 10 years and we are grateful that they chose to expand their industrial footprint in Nassau County as well as it shows their commitment to the community,” said Laura DiBella, executive director for the Nassau County Economic Development Board.
“In the 10 years that River Valley has been here, we have watched the area grow at a great pace and thankfully, River Valley Paper has also grown at a terrific pace in that time frame,” stated Quinn Garber, general manager – sales for River Valley Paper Company. “When we started our facility in 2010 in Jacksonville it did not take us long to realize we were going to outgrow the space. Within six months, we were full to capacity and forced to look for outside warehousing options for our materials. As the time came near to the end of our five-year agreement at our previous facility we looked all over the NE corner of Florida.”
The company will lease 120,000 square feet of the former Stone Container Company bag plant, also known as the Trinity Plant, on US 17. Location and logistics played a large role in River Valley Paper Company’s decision to choose Nassau County and this facility, in particular. According to Garber, their business pulls materials in from throughout the Southeast and often, further. With their new facility in Yulee, River Valley Paper Company will be able to take advantage of their close proximity to the local ports to export their product.
The building was constructed in 1953 and to make the formerly vacant site viable, the current owners have invested in significant improvements which included ensuring current fire codes are met and updating electrical throughout. According to a representative for the building, the owners are renovating the two large main restrooms/locker rooms inside the facility, as well as, replacing the roof over all the restrooms and offices. River Valley Paper transports substantial quantities of their product via rail and as a result, the owner is repairing and reactivating one of the four rail spur lines on the property, which are serviced by a CSX line that connects the facility to the Port of Jacksonville and the Port of Fernandina.