Andresen To Preside Over Inland Paper

Wayne Andresen will become president of the Inland Empire Paper Co. effective Jan. 1, current President James P. Cowles announced Tuesday.

Cowles, who will remain a director of the company, praised Andresen’s handling of operations at Inland’s Millwood plant since he was named general manager in 1991.

“Wayne’s industry knowledge has also kept us abreast of trends and ensured our success in what has become a very competitive industry,” Cowles said.

Andresen, 50, joined Inland in 1979 after working at the Stone Container Corp. mill in Missoula for nine years.

In addition to his duties with Inland, Andresen serves on the HealthPlus board of directors, and he is a member of the Spokane Valley Rotary.

He also assisted with the donation of Inland property to the Mirabeau Point area in the Spokane Valley.

As president of Inland, Andresen will oversee construction of a new paper machine that will double the company’s output to 600 tons per day.

Ground breaking for the $102 million project is scheduled next spring, with completion expected in late 2000.

Andresen said Tuesday that Inland also will double the plant’s capacity for recycling newsprint, some shipped in from as far as Kansas City and Salt Lake City. Present capacity is 100 tons a day.

The new paper machine will produce sheets 225 inches wide running at 5,000 feet per minute. Paper from the existing machine is 142 inches wide, and rolls out at 3,500 feet per minute.

Andresen said that at 260 tons per day, Inland is the smallest newsprint maker in North America. “We’re going to have to have more tons to spread our costs,” he said.

Andresen said customers have already been found for the new capacity. Although the old mill will be shut down when the new one is completed, he said plant engineers will explore additional ways of upgrading that equipment.

Inland is a wholly owned subsidiary of Cowles Publishing Co., which also owns The Spokesman-Review.

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