Business & Tech
Company Wants To Make Another Marcal Plant In Elmwood Park
Soundview Paper Co., which makes Marcal products, said it wants to restart 'a strong and viable business' where the old plant burned down.
BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — The manufacturer of Marcal products wants to rebuild the former Marcal paper facility in Elmwood Park six months after the original one burned down.
Rob Baron, president and CEO of Soundview Paper Co., which makes Marcal products, said the company is exploring "all realistic pathways to restart a strong and viable business" at the site.
"With continued support, we hope to write a new and great chapter for Marcal in the State of New Jersey," Baron said in a statement Tuesday.
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Investigators with the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office still do not know what caused the fire. The massive blaze destroyed 31 of the 36 buildings at the complex.
Related: Massive Fire Consumes Marcal Paper Plant In Elmwood Park
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"What happened on Jan. 30 was indeed a ‘perfect storm;' horrific weather conditions with freezing water and 30-mile per hour winds, combining with a fast-moving blaze to make containing this fire at a paper mill, despite remarkable courage by hundreds of first-responders, simply impossible," Baron said. "While we lost so much that night, including the company we knew — the company so many people had worked years to build and save — none of the 200 individuals in the building were injured. For that, we are very grateful."
Investigators could not determine the exact cause of the fire "due to extensive damage," but do not believe it was intentionally started, Musella said.
The Bergen County Prosecutor's Office interviewed more than 100 Marcel employees, outside workers, neighbors and witnesses of the fire, along with people who saw the fire at various points before it was extinguished, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said in a news release Monday.
The fire started in the northeastern most building on the south side of the railroad tracks, called building No. 41, Musella said. The fire originated in a part of the building where large rolls of paper Marcel used to make products were stored, he said.
Related: Cause Of Marcal Paper Fire In Elmwood Park Still Unknown: Police
Email: daniel.hubbard@patch.com
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