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QUINNESEC -- Verso Paper in Quinnesec is temporarily shutting down this week.  But this is turning out to be a good thing for the plant and the local economy.

The shutdown allows Verso to perform maintenance on tanks, boilers, pumps, and motors...a spring cleaning for the 24 hour, seven day a week operation.

"It's very important, especially to the long-term security of the mill, that we continue to maintain our operations,” said Verso Communications Manager Mark Pontti.  “We have about a billion and a half dollar investment here, and we want to make sure it continues well into the future.  So this is preventative maintenance, so to speak, we do on an annual basis."

Verso is spending more than eight million dollars this week to work on the powerhouse and pulp mill operations while continuing to run the paper machine.

During the outage, all 475 employees remain at work and an additional 300 contractors are brought in from across the country.

"The process started a long time ago, and we've probably been planning this outage for at least 8 to 12 months,” said Verso Purchasing Department Manager Bill Schilz.  “Bringing in 300 plus contractors, plus all the coordination that goes with it, is a huge effort."

The outage also is benefitting the local economy with many of the hired contractors staying in town and the assurance that Verso is here to stay.

"These 475 jobs mean a lot to the region and to the economy of the U.P.,” Pontti said.  “We think that this outage provides the ability again to reinvest in this facility, so we're here for many years to come."

The mill will be running at 100 percent early next week.