Domtar's paper mill in Nekoosa has earned a 2026 Energy Efficiency Excellence Award from Focus on Energy, the statewide energy efficiency and renewable energy program. The award recognizes projects at the mill that lowered energy use, improved operations and produced long-term savings.
Mill general manager Craig Helgeson credited the partnership with Focus on Energy for supporting work that made the facility more efficient while saving hundreds of thousands of dollars in energy costs. Public Service Commission Chairperson Summer Strand said efficiency work of this kind also supports jobs and economic growth in communities across Wisconsin.
At the mill, an energy team meets every two weeks to look for savings opportunities, weigh possible solutions and keep projects moving. Projects completed with Focus on Energy support in 2024 and 2025 saved the equivalent of millions of kilowatt-hours and hundreds of thousands of dollars, freeing money for other investments. The mill uses audits, assessments, technical help, incentives and rebates through the program, and quality manager Ben King, who leads the energy team, said the program's local energy advisors bring pulp and paper experience that helps projects reach completion.
The fully integrated specialty paper mill has operated in Nekoosa for more than a century and employs more than 400 people, with an estimated annual economic impact of more than $600 million. It makes specialty papers used for food packaging, security and publishing, among other uses, and can generate all of the electricity its operations need. The mill recently built a precipitated calcium carbonate plant intended to improve sustainability and efficiency at Nekoosa and at other Wisconsin mills.
The mill also gave back locally in 2025. Eight community projects received $2,000 grants through Domtar's employee-driven "$2k Your Way" program, covering efforts such as tree planting, trail cleanup, fire safety education and animal welfare. The mill's Domtar Connects team took part in more than 25 community events during the year, and company-owned land around the mill is made available for recreational parks under agreements with the city.
