Investment Firm May Buy Paper Mills In Mosinee, Rhinelander

Wausau Paper Company has found a potential buyer for its mills in Mosinee and Rhinelander: KPS Capital Partners, a New York investment firm.

The Mosinee paper mill dominates the landscape and the economy of this old mill town, straddling the Wisconsin River on the busy four lane Highway 153 corridor. There is more at stake here than the mill’s 450 good paying jobs.

“Well, my Dad was the original Charlie, but I’m the second generation. Jeff and Pam are the third generation.”

West of town, Chuck and Jeff Kyhos mind the store at Charlie’s hardware, which has been in business since 1957, serving the people who work at the mill, and the other businesses that depend on it. Chuck Kyhos says he hopes for the best.

“It’s a great feeling. It’s another investment firm, and we’re concerned about it. According to the papers that we read and heard on TV, they do have a lot of experience in the paper industry, and that’s a big positive.”

KPS has a history of buying and turning around troubled companies. Jeff and Chuck Kyhos know it is not just their hardware store that depends on what an east coast company decides to do with Mosinee’s biggest employer.

“Basically, the town is built around it. So, a lot of those employees that work over there live in our town, and that’s what makes us go round.”

“It’s not only important to us here, it’s important to help our community grow and stay together, from the roads to the schools to everything around, it’s very important. Morale-wise too.”

KPS is planning to buy the Mosinee and Rhinelander mills for $130 million.