About Us

Ponderay Industries

Ponderay Industries, previously known as Ponderay Newsprint Company, is a paper production facility located in the beautiful town of Usk, Washington. Established in 1987, the facility had been providing high-quality products and exceptional service to its customers along the West Coast and U.S. Midwest, and Asia, for almost three decades.

Ponderay Industries manufactures paper products for a wide range of customers. Its state-of-the-art facility and experienced team allowed it to produce paper products of the highest quality.  And it intends to begin producing those products once again. 

Ponderay Industries is dedicated to environmental responsibility and sustainability, having some of the most stringent environmental standards in the industry.  Despite not being able to operate yet, it continuously invests in sustainable products and technologies to minimize its environmental impact. It also support the local community by providing job opportunities and donating to local civic organizations, youth programs, and first responders.

Meet the Team

The History of the Mill

The Ponderay Newsprint Company was founded in 1987 and was fully operational in 1989 as one of the largest private employers in Pend Oreille County, providing approximately 150 jobs. At the time, the mill was the largest economic development accomplishment in Washington State history. Throughout the early years of the Ponderay Newsprint Company, it was praised for its efficiency and high-quality paper products due to the careful integration of machinery and automation in the production process. In November of 1994, the company hit a landmark 1,000,000 tons of paper produced in just 5 years. In February of 1999, the mill reached 2,000,000 tons of paper produced, making it one of the most productive newprint manufacturers in North America. 

Ponderay Newsprint took its commitment to the community seriously, through monetary donations, supporting employee volunteerism, and donating material and time to building structures like the Centennial Plaza in Pend Oreille County.

More recently, the mill was purchased in 2021 at a bankruptcy auction, shortly after its shutdown in 2020. The facility was acquired by Allrise Capital which has stated its plans to fully restart the papermill as a way to restore lost jobs, generate economic development, and help serve the local community. Since the purchase, the mill has continued to be active in the community through donations to first responders, schools, and venues totaling over $300K. In its current state, the site supports 20 jobs, but has plans to provide more opportunities once the mill is fully operational with the hope of getting it back to 150 jobs, when fully operational. The mill has the capacity to produce 220,000 metric tons of newspaper per year and would act as one of the highest-capacity newsprint mills in North America due to innovative technologies.