Georgia-Pacific Invests $150 Million to Rebuild Palatka Paper Machine

Georgia-Pacific announced on October 28, 2026 that it will invest approximately 150 million U.S. dollars to rebuild one of the paper machines at its Palatka, Florida, mill, where the company produces paper for Angel Soft bath tissue. Work on the project has already begun, and the company expects to complete it in the second quarter of 2028.

The Atlanta-based company described the investment as part of its ongoing efforts to maintain and strengthen its current tissue production and to enhance the long-term competitiveness of its consumer tissue business.

The investment replaces the mill’s Number Four paper machine, which was installed in 1980. Georgia-Pacific said the project will modernize a strategic machine that produces paper for Angel Soft, preserving existing production while increasing the mill’s manufacturing capabilities. The company said the rebuilt machine will incorporate updated technology and safety systems to improve safety, reliability, quality and productivity.

“This investment demonstrates our confidence in Palatka and in the future of our consumer tissue business,” said Andrew Noble, president of Georgia-Pacific’s consumer tissue, towel and napkins business. Noble said the project allows the company to modernize an important asset with current technology while continuing to provide the quality products its customers and consumers expect.

Vin Webster, vice president for manufacturing at the Palatka mill, stated, “This paper machine rebuild is an investment in Palatka’s future.” Webster said the rebuilt machine will help the mill better serve customers, apply technology more effectively and strengthen its position as an advantaged manufacturer, adding that the project reflects Georgia-Pacific’s vision of creating long-term value through talented people, innovation, stewardship and teamwork.

Palatka Mill and Florida Footprint

The Palatka mill, located in Putnam County, produces Angel Soft, Quilted Northern, Brawny and Sparkle, consumer brands Georgia-Pacific says are found in nearly 60 million U.S. households. The company describes the mill as a strategic location for its consumer products business, citing its integrated pulp supply, existing infrastructure, geographic location and converting capabilities, and said the investment leverages the site’s existing infrastructure and converting assets while improving manufacturing capabilities and production and ensuring employee safety.

On its official Florida locations page, Georgia-Pacific reports 1,130 direct employees and two facilities in the state, along with $1.440 billion in capital investments and acquisitions in Florida since 2014, $98 million in direct wages and benefits, $246 million in total combined compensation and benefits including direct and indirect jobs, and 3,040 additional jobs created indirectly.

Related Tissue Investments

The Palatka project is in addition to plans the company announced on May 12, 2026, when it said it had begun final engineering and planning for additional structured paper machines and associated converting equipment to better meet growing customer and consumer demand for premium bath tissue and paper towels. The planned machines would be installed at existing Georgia-Pacific facilities in the central and western United States, and site selections for those projects have not been announced. The company said in the May announcement that it expects to shorten project schedules and optimize capital deployment by leveraging existing site infrastructure, and that it anticipates beginning construction following completion of engineering and authorization by the company’s board of managers, with a first machine targeted to begin operations in late 2028 and a second machine to follow.

Vivek Joshi, executive vice president of Georgia-Pacific’s Consumer Products Group, said in May that the efforts reflect the company’s continued confidence in the long-term growth of premium paper products and its commitment to invest alongside customers to meet that demand. The May release said the investments would reinforce the company’s commitment to brands including Angel Soft, Quilted Northern, Sparkle and Brawny while continuing to grow its premium private-brand partnerships.

The May release dated the company’s recent new paper machine investments to Naheola, Alabama, in 2018; Palatka, Florida, in 2020; Green Bay, Wisconsin, in 2024; and Wauna, Oregon, expected in 2026. The October 28 announcement listed recent tissue investments comprising new paper machines and converting investments in Naheola, Palatka, Green Bay, Port Hudson, Louisiana, and Halsey and Wauna, Oregon, and noted the recent dedication of a rebuilt paper machine at the Wauna mill that produces Angel Soft and strategic private-label bath tissue, capping an investment of more than $150 million.

Based in Atlanta, Georgia-Pacific and its subsidiaries manufacture and market bath tissue, paper towels and napkins, tableware, paper-based packaging, cellulose and building products, with consumer brands that include Angel Soft, Brawny, Dixie, enMotion, Quilted Northern, Sparkle and Vanity Fair. The company describes itself as among the world’s leading manufacturers and marketers in those product categories and describes its Georgia-Pacific Recycling subsidiary as among the world’s largest traders of paper, metal and plastics. Georgia-Pacific operates more than 150 facilities and employs approximately 30,000 people directly, and the company says it creates more than 80,000 jobs indirectly.