Sofidel Begins Expansion Construction in Duluth

DULUTH, Minn.– Sofidel, the Italian paper company specializing in toilet paper, and tissue paper manufacturing took over the once vacant paper mill along I-35.

The company is eager to breathe new life into this property.

Sofidel decided to invest in Duluth because of two things. First, it was a new facility in terms of paper machine. And the second reason is because of secure workforce. The work force that is here is very committed and very dedicated to the mill, and to the plant,” said Sofidel Integration Manager Simone Giacomelli.

Before Sofidel was in the picture, the factory used to produce paper for newspapers and magazines.

Over the years, this is the 7th company that has taken over that mill.

The rise of the internet saw a big decrease in demand for these products.

“That market was sort of in a doom state within a decade of the completion of the original mill. Now the Duluth mill stayed competitive right until the very end. Which was July 5th of 2020.And that was during the height of COVID. And that was kind of the last straw for the facility as it was,” said Sofidel Site Operations Manager, Gary Wargin.

Sofidel initially received a 5-million-dollar incentive from the state to expand this plant in October of this year.

Those funds are going towards the 200-million-dollar expansion project, that began construction two weeks ago.

“This is going to create 160 additional jobs on top of what we have currently on the mill site. It’s going to help other local industries that support the paper industry. You know, when you think of transportation, trucking, shipping, those types of things,” said Wargin.

The completed project is expected to be 600,000 square feet.

The expansion will improve how things are operated at the plant.

“The expansion of the operation is going to include two major things. First, we’re going to take our current paper production, and convert it into finished product paper. Second thing is, we’re going to have a full automated warehouse and shipping facilities constructed on site. So, we can go to direct customer locations right out of the Duluth site,” said Wargin.

The expansion will be complete in mid 2026.

In the meantime, they are already hiring for machine operators, and tissue converting operations manager.