On February 21, 2025, advanced manufacturing students from the Grenada School District and Holmes Community College toured Domtar’s Grenada Mill in Mississippi, gaining firsthand insights into industrial manufacturing processes, safety protocols, and career opportunities.
This initiative highlights Domtar’s commitment to fostering local talent and supporting workforce development.
Karen Roach, general manager at Grenada Mill, led the tour, emphasizing the importance of safety, quality control, and efficiency in paper production. Students learned about the intricate process of transforming timber into newsprint, including debarking, pulping, refining, and sheet pressing. “Manufacturing is about more than just production. It’s about innovation, problem-solving, and teamwork,” Roach explained.
The visit provided students with a deeper understanding of technical roles such as machine operation, engineering, quality assurance, and logistics. Participants expressed enthusiasm about the experience. “It’s really cool to see how the skills we’re learning in class connect to jobs in the real world,” said Dajuan Loston, a student in the program.
Domtar’s Grenada Mill is recognized as one of North America’s most modern newsprint production facilities. Built in 1989, it produces high-quality newsprint for markets across the Southeastern U.S., Mexico, and Latin America. The mill operates sustainably, with energy efficiency initiatives earning recognition from the Tennessee Valley Authority. It employs 169 workers and indirectly supports over 500 jobs locally.
The tour reflects the growing collaboration between Domtar and educational institutions to prepare students for careers in advanced manufacturing. As Grenada School District expands its Advanced Manufacturing program, experiences like this will continue to connect classroom learning with industry practices, inspiring students to pursue technical careers that strengthen their community.
Several advanced manufacturing students toured Domtar’s Grenada Mill. From left to right: Cameron Hill, ISO Cat1 Vibration Analyst; Karen Roach, Plant Manager; students Dajuan Loston, Kylar Gibson, Fisher Jackson and Ryan Williams; Kyle Doolittle, Innovation Mentor; and Jonathan Harris, E&I Planner.
Domtar is a leading, privately held manufacturer of diversified forest products, with a workforce of roughly 14,000 employees in more than 60 locations across North America. The company has an annual capacity of 9.1 million metric tons of pulp, paper, packaging and tissue annually, and has an annual production capacity of about 3 billion board feet of lumber and other wood products. Formerly known as the Paper Excellence Group, Domtar is comprised of legacy businesses Paper Excellence Canada Holdings Corporation, Domtar Corporation and Resolute Forest Products.
