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Interesting Details

• Ownership Change - On Nov. 9, 2001, the workers announced they had purchased Appleton Papers, Inc. from Worms and Cie.  However, this purchase included only one of their two Fox River  mills.  Worms and Cie retained ownership of the Appleton Coated - Combined Locks Mill.  Worms and Cie also retained all but $25 million of the liability for the Fox River PCB cleanup.  (The description below will be altered soon to reflect these changes.)   News articles:

• Sept. 11 terrorist attacks threatened employee plan - Nov. 10, MilwJS
• Employees at Appleton Papers Inc. invested retirement savings to take over the firm - Nov. 10, 2001 MilwJS
• Workers buy Appleton Papers - Nov. 9, 2001 MilwJS
• New mill owners take stock  - Nov. 10, 2001 PC   (no longer online)
• Buyout plan came in the nick of time - Nov. 10, 2001 PC  (no longer online)
• Sale puts mill in workers' hands - Nov. 9, 2001 PC  (no longer online)

• Appleton Papers, Inc. and NCR Corporation are the 2 primary sources of PCB contamination in the Fox River, due to their joint production of PCB-coated carbonless copy paper, starting in 1954. Due to NCR patents, they had no competitors for this product. 

• NEW  Arjo Wiggins Appleton recently gave $1.5 million to the University of Wisconsin - Green Bay to monitor and study non-point pollution (land run-off).   AWA is the former owner of  Appleton Paper Inc. and still the current owner of the Appleton Coated Mill.  AWA retained the bulk of the PCB liability when it sold the Appleton Paper mill to its employees.  Clean Water Action Council is concerned that such large corporate grants could be influencing University involvement in the PCB issue.  (See University Credibility Compromised by Polluter Donations.)

• Monsanto provided the PCBs (under a Monsanto patent) which were encapsulated at the Portage, Wisconsin, Plant of Appleton Papers, Inc.   The PCB capsules were then trucked to the Appleton mills of the company, where the capsule coating was applied to the "NCR PAPER" carbonless copy paper. (See Sources of PCBs in the Fox River)

• Appleton Papers, Inc. is controlled by a holding company controlled by a wealthy family in Italy.

• Appleton Papers employees are planning an employee buyout of the company from Arjo Wiggins Appleton (Worms & Cie), using their retirement funds as a down payment.  (see news release )  Worms & Cie hopes to complete the $810 million sale by the end of this year.  Will the employees suffer the brunt of legal liabilities in the future for PCB damages and carbonless paper health effects, after many decades of profits have been drained away by the previous owners?  They face not only government cleanup costs, but unknown numbers of civil suits from injured individuals.  For more information, see these news articles:

• Appleton workers set assets for stock - MilwJS, 9/19/2001
• Appleton Papers employees hope to be owners - MilwJS, 8/18/2001
• Working as if they own the place - MilwJS, 3/25/2001
• Employees may buy Appleton Papers - MilwJS, 2/14/2001

• Appleton Papers faces legal challenges by several groups of former office workers who contend that their health has been damaged by the PCBs and other coatings used on the NCR PAPER carbonless sheets.  Please visit the website for the Carbonless Copy Paper Injury and Information Network.  (Appleton Papers created their own similar but opposite site to deflect this criticism and claim “five decades of safety.”)  It's important to note that PCBs are rapidly absorbed through the skin and volatilize into the air, so long-term office workers (and Appleton Papers' mill employees) could have experienced significant exposures. (see Health Risks)  Though PCBs were phased out at Appleton Papers in 1972, it may have taken their merchants and customers several more years to sell and use-up old stocks of PCB coated forms.  And the newer substitute chemicals may have posed their own risks.  For more information, please visit these sites:

• Carbonless Copy Paper --- health concerns, etc.
• What's That Smell? Faced with an alleged health hazard, Appleton Papers chose to wage war - (click to right of "Paper Trail" timeline)
• Paper Trail: A Short History of Carbonless Copy Paper
• The carbonless paper caper - Chemicals in checks, business forms linked to respiratory ills.
• Hazard review of carbonless copy paper - National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health  (this review covers only currently-used chemicals, not PCBs)
• Carbonless Copy Paper Index - U.S. Center for Disease Control

 
• In 1983, a researcher with the Water Chemistry Department of the University of Wisconsin in Madison found that when NCR Corporation and Appleton Papers phased out their PCB use for carbonless paper coatings, they substituted other chemicals with questionable safety.  Some of the substitute chemicals are persistent just like PCBs, and are also building up in the sediments and fish of the Fox River and Green Bay.   The health effects are unknown.  The DNR has refused to investigate. 

• In 2000, the Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources (DNR) allowed Appleton Papers to increase their current wastewater pollution discharges to the Fox River by 21%.

• Appleton Papers has a new website selling a line of recycled papers and describing their “long-term commitment to environmentally sensitive practices.” 

• Recently, a former Appleton Papers’ chemist (from 1948 to 1985) was honored and inducted into the Paper Industry Hall of Fame for his leadership in developing the PCB coating for carbonless paper, among other things.

Appleton Papers, Inc. produces carbonless paper, thermal paper, coated free sheet, and specialty coated papers.  The carbonless and thermal paper products of Worms & Cie (Appleton's owner) have 60% of the market share in the U.S. and 40% in Europe.  The Italian Agnelli family holding companies which control Worms & Cie have shareholdings in firms with a wide range of products and services, from car manufacturing (Fiat) to tourism (Alpitour, Club Med, Welcome Travel Partners and Sifalberghi). 

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1907 - Appleton Coated Paper Company is founded in a rented wooden building and boiler house in Appleton, Wisconsin. 

1910 - Production of a variety of white and colored papers reaches 1,375 tons. 

1930 - Total sales for the year are $1.76 million with 11,196 tons shipped. 

1940s - Capital investment for buildings and equipment during the 1940s totals $770,000, compared to $414,000 for all previous years combined.

1945 - Sales are $2.89 million with 15,000 tons shipped. 

1950 - Sales are $6.24 million with 20,000 tons shipped. 

1953 - NCR Corporation and Appleton Papers cooperate in production trials of NCR PAPER, a patented brand of carbonless paper coated with PCB oils.  Sales begin the following year. 

1960 - Net sales are $16 million with 31,000 tons shipped. 

1964 - Sales of just NCR PAPER top $26 million a year. 

1969 - Sales for the year total $50 million. 

1970 - NCR Corporation purchases Appleton Coated Paper Company. 

1971 - NCR combines Appleton Coated Paper Company and another NCR subsidiary, Combined Mills, to form Appleton Papers, Inc., with headquarters in Appleton, Wisconsin. 

1974 - Appleton Papers, Inc. constructs a new plant near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. 

1977 - Total sales of NCR PAPER* brand of carbonless paper, since its introduction in 1954, exceed 1 million tons. 

1978 - Total Appleton Papers sales reach $330 million. 

1978 - B.A.T. Industries (British American Tobacco) purchases Appleton Papers from NCR Corporation, for $290 million. NCR Corporation continues to license Appleton Papers to produce NCR Paper (under NCR’s registered trademark).   Appleton Papers and NCR Corporation signed an agreement pledging to share Fox River PCB cleanup costs, should this become necessary. 

1989 - Appleton sales reach $900 million. 

1990 - Appleton Papers and Wiggins Teape (based in the United Kingdom), another B.A.T. paper company, are merged to form Wiggins Teape Appleton. The new company is then spun off from B.A.T. and operates as an independent company. 

1990 - Wiggins Teape Appleton merges with French paper group Arjomari-Prioux. The new company becomes Arjo Wiggins Appleton (AWA).   During the 1990s, Worms & Cie, a French holding company, has a 40% share in AWA.  Worms & Cie, in turn, is controlled by IFIL, an Italian holding company owned by the Umberto Agnelli family, controlled by IFI.. 

1994 - Total sales of NCR PAPER* brand of carbonless paper, since its introduction in 1954, exceed 7 million tons. 

1995 - Sales reach $1.2 billion with 650,000 tons shipped. 

1998 - Sales reach $1.3 billion. 

1999 - Arjo Wiggins Appleton (AWA) created three autonomous divisions according to market segments. The coated free sheet business at Appleton Papers legally separated, creating Appleton Coated LLC, the North American entity for the Fine Specialty and Coated Global Division of AWA. 

2000 - In May, Worms & Cie increased its stake in Arjo Wiggins Appleton p.l.c. from 40 to 100 percent, when AWA accepted a £2.2 billion (Pounds) takeover bid from Worms & Cie, but retained its United Kingdom headquarters. 

2001 - In February, Worms & Cie announced it had "initiated discussions with a view to divesting its carbonless and thermal paper manufacturing activity in the United States (Appleton Papers Inc.)" by selling the company to its employees.  The Worm & Cie 2000 annual report also mentions "the drive to enhance cash flow management of Appleton Papers."

Owners, Locations and Contact Information

IFI --- Istituto Finanziario Industriale S.p.A. (controlled by Agnelli family) 

Corso Matteotti, 26 
10121 Turin, Italy 

Phone: +39-011-509-0266 
Fax: +39-011-535-600 

Leaders: 

Giovanni Agnelli, Chairman 
Gianluigi Gabetti, Deputy Chairman 
Umberto Agnelli, Deputy Chairman and Managing Director 
Gabriele Galateri di Genola, Managing Director and General Manager 
Franzo Grande Stevens, Secretary and Director of Legal

Worms & Cie   (controlled by IFI) 

25, avenue Franklin D. Roosevelt 
75008 Paris, France 

Phone: +33-1-56-88-78-00 
Fax: +33-1-56-88-78-77 
website:  http://www.worms.fr/uk_version/index.html 

Leaders: 

Nicholas Clive Worms, Supervisory Board Chairman 
Tiberto Ruy Brandolini d'Adda, S.B.Vice Chairman 
Dominique Auburtin, Chairman 
Ferruccio Luppi, Managing Director 
Alain Laporte, Human Resources Director 

Board Members

Umberto Agnelli 
Luigi Arnaudo 
Paul Barnaud 
Gabriele Galateri di Genola 
Aldo Osti 
Luca Pàveri-Fontana 
Assurances Générales de France (AGF) 
       represented by Christian de Gournay 

Censors

Alain Fauchier-Delavigne 
Michel Taittinger

Ownership Structure as of March 31, 2001 

IFIL Group (controlled by IFI)     53.30% 
Founding Families                       23.17% 
AGF                                          15.22% 
Public                                        8.31%

Arjo Wiggins Appleton p.l.c.  (wholly owned subsidiary of Worms & Cie) 

45 Pall Mall
London SW1Y 5JG, United Kingdom 

Phone: +44-0-20-7941-8000 
Fax: +44-0-20-7941-8008 

Leaders: 

Ken Minton, Executive Chairman 
Sir Anthony Tennant, Non-Executive Deputy Chairman

Recent Ownership: 

Arjomari-Prioux   39.97% 
Sun Life Investment Ltd.  3.07% 
Other     56.96%

Appleton Papers, Inc.  (owned by Arjo Wiggins Appleton p.l.c.)

Appleton Papers’ Executive Office Address: 
825 E. Wisconsin Avenue 
Appleton, WI 54911 

(P.O. Box 359, Appleton, WI 54912-0359) 

Phone:  920-734-9841 
Fax: 920-991-7365 

Appleton Papers’ Local Leaders:

 Richard Curwin, Board Chairman 
 Daniel W. McIntosh, Exec. Vice President 
 Jerry E. Wallace, Vice pres. R&D 
 Paul G. Meier, Vice President, Human resources 
 Douglas P. Buth, Vice pres. Sis 
 Rick Curtis, vice presidnet, Finance and Chief Fiscal Officer 
 Michael J. Van Eyck, Vice President, Logistics 
 John L. Tucker, Vice President, Information Services 
 Paul J. Karch, General Counsel and Secretary 
 Ann M. Whalen, Controller 
 Dennis N. Hultgren, Director, Environmental and Public Affairs

Manufacturing Divisions

 Wisconsin --- Appleton, Combined Locks and Portage 
 New York --- Newton Falls 
 Ohio --- West Carrollton 
 Pennsylvania --- Harrisburg and Roaring Spring

Subsidiaries

 Appleton Papers Canada Ltd. --- Peterborough, Ontario

Affiliates

 Ponderosa Fibres of Pennsylvania Partnership

Research and Development Centers

 Appleton Papers Research Center 
 P.O. Box 359   (825 E. Wisconsin Ave.) 
 Appleton, WI 54911-0359

Distribution

Appleton Papers, Inc. operates eight distribution centers and over 70 sales offices across North America.

Appleton Mill

825 E. Wisconsin Avenue 
Appleton, WI 54911              (P.O. Box 359, Appleton, WI 54912-0359) 

Phone: 920-734-9841 
Fax: 920-749-8796 

Served by Union Pacific Railroad 

Leaders: 

Thomas F. Cashman, Plant Manager 
Pam Doleson, Distribution Manager 
Stephen H. Chambers, Production Manager 
Shari Aleksy, Manufacturing Manager, Thermal Division 
Paul J. McCann, Plant Engineering and Maintenance Manager 
Brian Hennessey, Human Resources Manager 
Joe Bartolameolli, Information Services Manager 
Steve M. Wilhelms, Business Unit Manager 
Daniel J. Kay, Manager of Administration & Services 
Roger E.Wilke, Quality Assurance Manager 
Ted E. Goodwin, Manager of Technical Development 
Peter A. Komlos, Manager of Operational Development 
Paul S. Phillips, Manager of Technology Development 
John W. Stutz, Manager of Coating Technology 
Michael J. Van Eyck, Director of Manafacturing Applications Development 
Vince Newberry, Director of Basic Research 
William Goetz, Director of Applied Research 
Gary D. Weber, Business Unit Manager 
Bill Van Den Brandt, Senior Communications Representative 

Equipment: 1 Coater, 93”Appleton design, 5 Trimmers at 54”, 62”, 84”, 99”, and 111”; 12 Rewinders; 3 Wrappers, Hayssen and Pemco: 2 Coaters,  Waldron Yuko and Waldron Microjet, 64”and 79”; 4Coaters, Midland Ross 93”; 3 Coaters, Warren 56”, 65” and 79”; 7 Doctor Winders; 7 Sheeters, cut-size and folio size. 

Products:  Printing and decorative papers, coated covers and enamels, colored and white bristols, labels, lithos, tags and greeting card; fluorescents, metallics; duplex and bristol covers; reproduction proofing and masking, aqueous and solvent coated, battery separator, chart, electrophotographic, gumming substrates, magnetic recording, metallic, pressure-sensitive cover and backings, show card, thermal; and NCR Paper brand of carbonless paper.

Combined Locks Mill - Appleton Coated L.L.C. Division

540 Prospect Street 
Combined Locks, WI 54113       (P.O. Box 129, Combined Locks, WI 54113-0129) 

Phone: 920-788-3550 
Fax: 920-687-3413 

Appleton Coated LLC 
569 Carter Court 
Kimberly, WI 54136 

phone 920.968.3999 
fax 920.968.3950 
website --- http://www.appletoncoated.com 

Served by Union Pacific Railroad 

Leaders: 

John M. Cappy, Vice President, CFS Manufacturing, Research & Development, and Mill Manager 
Mike Rask, Director of Papermaking Operations 
Jim Heim, Director of CFS Manufacturing Operations 
Tim Borchardt, Superintendent, Material Preparations 
Mark Pikturna, Superintendent, Paper Machines 1 & 6 
Bill Casey, Superintendent, Paper Machines 3 & 5 
Sean Wallace, Superintendent, Paper Machine 7 
Joseph Strick, Principal Papermaker 
Art Rankin, Technical Director 
Doug Osterberg, Director, CFS Research & Development, and Technical Services 
Curt Hendrickson, Maintenance Supervisor 
Mark Wallenfang, Manufacturing Services Manager 
Robert A. Ward, Engineering & Construction Manager 
Clarence Lotzer, Finishing & Shipping Superintendent 
Dave Wardecke, Utilities and Environmental Superintendent 
Daniel J. Van Thiel, Accounting & Human Resources Manager 
Dave Funk, Director of Procurement 
Larry Seale, Automation Director 
Steve Alm, Director of Information Services 
Jeff Fern, Director of CFS Human Resources 
Sandy Van Ert, Director of Finance

Woodhandling and Preparation: 7,000 cords of Roundwood Storage Capacity.  1 mechanical Barker. 1 Chipper. 1 Chip Screen. 

Pulp Mill:  Average daily production of 100 tons of chemi-mechanical pulp.  2 Bauer M&D Continuous Digesters.  A chemical recovery plant.  Evaporators for spent pulping liquor.  Bleach plant has one stage of peroxide bleaching.  Pulp Processing. Stock Refiners: 8 Bauer 4012 and 2 pump-thru.  4 Pressafiners. 1 washer. 2 vacuum Deckers.  Four-stage cleaners. 

Paper Mill:  Stock Preparation: Pulpers: 6, 2 broke.  Refiners: 13, 2 deflakers, Jordans: 4. Stock Mixers: 5 continuous systems.  Paper Machines. No. 1 Fourdrinier 134” Width 123” Trim.  No. 3: Fourdrinier 96” Width 80” Trim.  No. 5 Fourdrinier 181” Width 164” Trim. No.6 Fourdrinier 248” Width 230” Trim.  No. 7 Top Former on base Fourdrinier 252” Width 230” Trim.  Finishing Plant. Sheeters: 1 Jagenberg Synchro-Contimat.  Coaters, Off Machine. 1 113” web-width Jagenberg Combi-Blade. 

Steam and Power:  Five power boilers producing 600,000 pounds of steam per hour. Four fueled by gas or oil, and one fueled by coatings, bark and/or wastewater treatment plant sludge. 

Intake Water Treatment:  8 million gallons used daily from the Fox River.  Secondary treatment: primary screening, chemical flocculation, and filtration. 

Wastewater Treatment:  Primary treatment (dual clarifiers, 1 vacuum filter, 2 belt presses).  Secondary treatment (Unox aeration system, 1 surge tank) 

Products: carbonless copy paper 

In 1999, Arjo Wiggins Appleton (AWA) created three autonomous divisions according to market segments. The coated free sheet business at Appleton Papers legally separated, creating Appleton Coated LLC, the North American entity for the Fine Specialty and Coated Global Division of AWA.   From 1994 to 2000, the Appleton Coated group expanded the Combined Locks Mill.

Portage Plant

2500 W. Wisconsin Avenue 
Portage, WI 53901 

(P.O. Box 119, Portage, WI 53901) 

Phone: 608-742-5386 
Fax: 608-742-7957 

Leaders: 

George A. Stahler, Manager 
Dennis Droste, Production Supervisor 

Products:  Capsules used to produce carbonless copy papers at the Appleton and Combined Locks Mills in Wisconsin, and the Roaring Springs Mill in Pennsylvania, for Appleton Paper, Inc.

Financial Information

• The 1998 Wards Business Directory, reports Appleton Papers had $1.2 billion in sales at its Appleton plant. 

• Appleton Papers, Inc. has 2,800 employees in North America, with 1,449 in Portage and Appleton, and 900 in Combined Locks. 

• Appleton Papers increased operating margins to 16.3% of turnover in 2000.  "Constant improvement led to higher operating margins in both relative and absolute value terms, with absolute value posting a 29% increase." 

• Worms & Cie experienced a 65% rise in net asset value between January 1999 and the time of their 2000 annual report.   Total assets in 2000 were $6.8 billion for Worms & Cie. 

• IFI had a net asset value of 4,461m euros (roughly $4.8 billion U.S.), as of June 2001. (IFI is the Italian holding company which controls Appleton Papers.) 

• IFIL (controlled by IFI) closed the first half of 2001 with consolidated profits of 236m euros, while the parent company, IFIL SpA, reported net profits of 104.8m euros (+27 per cent). Net consolidated assets amounted to 3,350m euros. 

Comments about the Fox River --- from Worms & Cie's annual report of December 31, 2000, as quoted in the IFI annual report for 2000:

"The United States Fish and Wildlife Department, in 1997, brought suit against Appleton Papers Inc., NCR Corporation and five other paper manufacturers for the alleged contamination of the Fox River." 

"This event took place during the 1970s when the company was owned by the NCR Corporation.  At the time of the acquisition of Appleton Papers Inc. by Arjo Wiggens Appleton, in 1978, an agreement was signed with NCR Corporation for purposes of sharing the costs of the indemnities that could eventually be charged to Appleton Papers, Inc." 

"Since 1997, studies are being conducted to establish the feasibility of decontaminating the Fox River, to determine portions of responsibility and, thus, the eventual indemnities which, to date, cannot be estimated exactly." 

"In the event of decontamination work, the indeminities payable would be divided over the period of such work and, therefore, a minimum of about 25 years." 

"Worms & Cie Group does not feel that specific provisions are necessary to cover such risks." 

Clean Water Action Council's observations concerning this report:

• Appleton Papers and NCR Corporation dumped PCBs in the Fox River from 1954 to 1972, not just "during the 1970s." 

• Worms & Cie appears to be passing blame to NCR Corporation, when the majority of the PCB dumping occurred prior to NCR's purchase of Appleton Papers in 1970.

• The Fox River situation and remedies have been studied since 1971, not just "since 1997."

• By 2000, several official government reports had clearly estimated relative shares of responsibility as well as a range of costs, which Worms & Cie and IFI should have divulged to their shareholders (see PCB Sources in the Fox River).

• These companies appear ready to drag-out the cleanup work for a "minimum of about 25 years."  This is a major concern, because public and wildlife health is at risk in the meantime.

• If the companies don't "feel that specific provisions are necessary to cover such risks," they must be able to easily afford the cleanup costs.   The companies DID create special reserves to cover numerous OTHER financial risks and liabilities.

• The companies fail to mention that they are expected to pay millions of dollars in additional compensation and restoration costs, not just cleanup costs.  They aren't telling their shareholders or employees the whole story.

• In 1978, NCR and Appleton Papers signed an agreement to share PCB remediation costs.  It is now 2001, and they've done little to protect public health in the intervening 23 years. (Though they convinced the state and federal governments to pay the bulk of costs for a 1999-2000 "demonstration" cleanup downstream from their plant.)  Meanwhile, thousands of pounds of PCBs have escaped the Fox River into Green Bay, making those PCBs unrecoverable.

• Could the company be deliberately misleading its workers about the true situation, as part of the effort to sell the company to the employees and shift future liabilities to them?

References and Links to More Information

Appleton Papers website - (beware, you may get stuck in this site) 
Appleton Coated website - (beware, you may get stuck in this site) 
Arjo Wiggins Appleton p.l.c. Capsule Description --- from Hoover’s Online, The Business Network 
Arjo Wiggins Appleton p.l.c. Financial Summary --- from Hoover’s Online, The Business Network 
Arjo Wiggins Appleton p.l.c. --- corporate intelligence
Arjo Wiggins Appleton p.l.c. --- news articles
Worm & Cie website
Worms & Cie.  Capsule Description --- from Hoover’s Online, The Business Network  >
Worms & Cie.  Financial Summary --- from Hoover’s Online, The Business Network 
IFI, Istituto Finanziario Industriale S.p.A. Capsule Description --- from Hoover's Online 
IFI and IFIL forecast profits in line with 2000
Forged on Agnelli's production line: BUSINESS HEIRS JOHN ELKANN, FIAT

Miscellaneous Links

Lockwood-Post’s Directory 2000 
1998 Wards Business Directory 
PCB responsibilities erode paper company coalition
IWX Motor Freight - in partnership with Appleton Papers 
Civil lawsuit says firm fixed fax paper prices
Paperhub - in partnership with Appleton Papers 
Putting Technology to Work: Appleton Papers
Appleton Papers introduces several products
Appleton Papers Selects Logility to Optimize Production and Distribution Plans
Scipher licenses embedded security product to largest US specialist paper manufacturer
How Appleton Papers completed its Year 2000 project ahead of schedule
Integrated Solutions - Enhancing Customer Service 
What's New in Business Forms
Carbonless Copier Papers

General Industry Links:

Paper Industry Glossary of Terms
The Wisconsin Paper Council
Industry news releases, with search engine