DULUTH, Minn. — Last January ST Paper re-opened the Duluth paper-making plant that had been closed since 2020. It now appears the plant will be sold to an Italian Company, Sofidel, the world’s seventh-largest maker of tissue paper.

A spokesman for ST Paper, Bill Broydrick, says the sale is not being made because of any distress, but because it is a key purchase for Sofidel. Americans use more tissue paper per person than any other country in the world.

ST Paper had received help from the state, the county, and the city with its purchase of the plant. Those agreements were dependent on ST Paper keeping at least 80 workers for ten years. Those agreements would likely continue in place as long as Sofidel continues that level of employment.