MIAMISBURG, Ohio — Verso Corp. announced Monday it completed the sale of its idled Duluth mill as of Thursday to ST Paper 1.

“Since the idling of the Duluth mill in July 2020, we have been working diligently to find a viable and sustainable alternative,” said Randy Nebel, president and CEO. “We are pleased to have found a buyer who plans to operate the Duluth mill in the future, providing local employment opportunities and serving the local business community and residents of the Duluth area.”

ST Paper & Tissue currently has mills that produce bath tissue, paper towels and napkins in Oconto Falls, Wis.; and Isle of Wight, Va.

Verso announced its plans to idle both the Duluth and Wisconsin Rapids, Wis., mills last June. For the past several months, a group of timber professionals in Wisconsin has been working to create a cooperative with the goal to purchase the Wisconsin Rapids mill and operate it as a group along with mill workers and community members, the Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune reported. The Great Lakes Timber Professionals Association in Rhinelander, Wis., created the Timber Professionals Cooperative in August as part of that group.

Dennis Schoeneck, the president of the Timber Professionals Cooperative, told the newspaper the group has continued talking with Verso about a potential sale of the Wisconsin Rapids mill, although there hasn’t been a deal on the table yet.

In early 2020, Verso completed the sale of mills in Stevens Point, Wis., and Jay, Maine, to Pennsylvania-based Pixelle Specialty Solutions. Its remaining mills are in Escanaba and Quinnesec.