Spring Grove, Pennsylvania

Strategically located in South Central Pennsylvania, the Spring Grove mill is a self-sufficient, fully integrated mill with seven paper machines and an off-machine coater. It is one of two mills that make up the Glatfelter Paper Division and produces approximately 850 net tons of paper daily. Founded in 1864, the Spring Grove mill employs approximately 1200 and is the home of Corporate Headquarters.

The mill's four large machines provide maximum capacity for long runs or bestseller-type orders. With three smaller machines, the Spring Grove mill is known for its versatility and ability to make custom orders. All papers made in Spring Grove are alkaline (acid-free) and groundwood free.

Environmentally, the mill is state of the art, featuring a newly modernized pulpmill, which incorporates oxygen delignification and chlorine dioxide substitution in the bleaching process, and is designed to meet or exceed federal, state and local air and water standards.

History
When P. H. Glatfelter opened the doors of this mill many years ago, he started out with two water wheels, four large engines, a rotary boiler and a 62-inch cylinder paper machine.

By 1881, Mr. Glatfelter had expanded his operation to meet the growing demand for his papers. He had installed the largest paper machine in the world at that time - a 102-inch machine with an improved fourdrinier system. In addition, he became one of the first papermakers in the world to give up cotton rags and rye straw as a fiber source in favor of wood chips. Using a soda process, he began extracting pulp from jack pine, poplar wood and straw.

In the company's first 25 years, the mill rapidly grew in size and profit. The number of machines increased from one to four, and production rose from 1,500 to 110,000 pounds per day. Perhaps the most significant change came in the product itself.

In 1892, Mr. Glatfelter converted production from newsprint to papers for books, lithography and business forms conversion.

As demand for paper increased, so did the need for wood fiber. In 1918, W. L. Glatfelter, succeeded his father as Company president and founded The Glatfelter Pulp Wood Company. As a subsidiary, the Pulp Wood Company procures wood from both company and privately owned lands to meet the Spring Grove mill's fiber needs. In addition to managing 110,000 acres of timberland in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and Virginia, Pulp Wood Company foresters provide timberland management services to private landowners as part of its Tree Farm Family Program.

This mill certainly has come a long way since those early years. In addition to its seven paper machines, the mill houses on off-machine coater operation, a pulpmill, a wood yard, and a primary and secondary waste water treatment system. The mill is also energy independent, thanks to a cogeneration facility that generates electricity as a byproduct of steam production.

Like the mill, Spring Grove itself has changed over the years, but its appeal remains just as it did in those early days, when individuals from all over the region came to town in search of a job at the papermill.

The town of Spring Grove is located in York County between Hanover and York. The entire region is filled with cultural diversity and possesses a strong bond with the past. The city of York was founded in 1741. Gettysburg, the site of the one of the most significant battles of the Civil War, is 20 miles west of the mill.

If you would like more information on the Spring Grove mill, please contact our Public Relations Office by calling 717-225-4711, ext. 2415.

  1999 The P.H. Glatfelter Company