International Paper looks back on 45 YEARS AND SETS SIGHTS ON THE FUTURE
DOMINO, Texas—At International Paper, we are proud of who we are, what we do and how we do it. For 45 years, we have worked to establish more than just a successful business. We’ve built families, friendships, community partnerships and a legacy of excellence rooted in a firm foundation of doing the right things, the right ways, for the right reasons—all the time. We call it the IP Way.
In 1972, International Paper made a $72 million investment to open the Texarkana Mill—or “Tex” as it’s been nicknamed—in Domino, Texas. Originally, the mill supplied coated paperboard for paper plates and health and beauty products along with Supersoft bleached pine pulp for disposable diapers. Today, the mill employs 800 people and is a world leader in manufacturing high quality products for quickserve restaurants, pharmaceuticals and the health and beauty industry. This year, we are proud to celebrate 45 years of a rich history in this community. We are grateful to our Tex team, community leaders and the deep community partnerships who made this milestone possible.
While we celebrate the past we look toward the future. Our eyes are set on being among the most successful, sustainable and responsible companies in the world. Through the collective power of our teams and communities, we will get there.
To drive that progress and achieve our vision, we will focus on five key areas: Sustaining our
Forests, Investing in People, Improving our Planet, creating Innovative Products and delivering Inspired Performance.
Sustaining Forests:
Our entire business depends on healthy forests. We support millions of acres of working forests around the globe. In fact, since 2013, International Paper has invested more than $7.5 million in the Forestland Stewardship Initiative, a partnership between International Paper and the National Fish and Wildlife Federation, that has restored and protected 240,000 acres of forests in the southeast United States.
Every product we make is certified to sustainable forestry practices and is tracked from the forest to the end user to ensure that it is sustainably and responsibly sourced.
In our community, sustainable forestry has been the foundation of our business since 1972. Our dedicated Fiber Supply team works hand-in-hand with local tree farmers to buy approximately 3 million tons of fiber each year from a 75-mile radius.
Investing in People
Safety: Nothing we do is more important than the safety of our team members and contractors that work at our mill. So that’s why creating a safe, engaging and inclusive workplace is something we strive for every day. “There is no job so important, that we cannot take the time to do it safely,” said Matt Barbour, Texarkana Mill Manager. “We challenge each member of our team to be safety leaders and do whatever it takes to make sure everyone goes home safe at the end of each day. It’s our most important job.”
Our mill culture is built around the safe choice always being the right choice. And while we’re pleased with our progress, we can never be completely satisfied when it comes to safety.
Hiring & Training: Over the next 10 years, International Paper projects 50 percent of our maintenance and operations teammates will retire, taking a wealth of knowledge and experience with them. Attracting highly engaged teammates who are ready to learn and grow— personally and professionally— has never been more important.
Community Partnerships: We want to be more than just an employer. We have a rich history and close ties to our community. Our teammates volunteer at dozens of organizations across the Ark-La-Tex and the mill gives back more than $200,000 in financial support each year to local schools and non-profits through grants and our annual United Way campaign. Our teammates serve as children’s advocates, school board members, non-profit board members and volunteers, and support local feeding programs throughout the community.
This year, the International Paper Foundation expanded our community support even further by adding hunger, health and wellness, and disaster relief. “We will always work to make our communities better,” Barbour said. “For 45 years, our community partners have supported International Paper, and it’s our honor to support them in return.” Improving the Planet: Being responsible stewards of our planet is something we take to heart. Take water for example. We return 95 percent of the water we use during the paper making process back to waterways. And while water is critically important to our manufacturing process, it’s also a vital resource in our community. Locally, the Texarkana Mill has an on-site water treatment plant. We partner with municipalities and provide 500 million gallons of drinking water each year to our surrounding communities.
We’re also making great strides when it comes to energy. At our site, we produce 75 percent of the power needed onsite to operate each day and we are working to be even more efficient. New equipment, alternative fuel sources and streamlining our operation will continue to drive progress so we can continue to reduce our dependency on purchased energy, while at the same time reducing our environmental footprint.
Innovative Products:
You might be surprised to learn how many International Paper products touch your life every single day. Our packaging products ship and move goods all over the world. Our pulp products are used for diapers, tissue and other products to promote health and wellness. Our paper brings education and communications to life. And our paper bags, cups and food containers are convenient, portable and sustainable solutions for our active lifestyles.
Your favorite to-go cup of coffee, the paper plate you used for your weekend cookout, the box protecting your over the counter medicine or that bucket of popcorn at the theatre—those are just a few of the products manufactured here in our community. Inspired Performance: We are passionate about results. We set stretch goals, think outside the box and continuously focus on improving year-over-year. Our measure of success and performance isn’t just about financial results; it’s in the value we create for our communities, employees and planet.
For 45 years, we have been honored to call this community home and we always welcome feedback on how we can contribute to make it stronger. “I’ve worked all over the country in my 26-year career with IP and I know there is something different about Tex,” Barbour says. “This is a family, a legacy. So as we look back on 45 years, we will work to sustain that progress and do whatever we can to secure our future. We will do all we can to give our leaders, communities and shareowners confidence in us, so they’ll always know they can bank on Texarkana.”