MISSOULA – Smurfit-Stone Container Corp. said Friday it would put 250 employees back to work beginning the first week of June as the company revs up the largest paper machine at its Frenchtown plant.
Company spokesman Mike Mullin said some millworkers began earning a paycheck earlier this week, doing maintenance and repair work to prepare for the June startup.
The No. 3 paper machine, the plant’s largest, has been shut down since April. Mullin said the No. 2 machine, which has been shut down since November and affects about 50 employees, will continue to sit idle amid a sluggish market.
Roy Houseman, union representative for Smurfit employees, said he was happy market conditions have improved and the company was making an effort to restart the machine.