WISCONSIN (From news reports) -- Ahlstrom, a Finnish company which owns the longtime Thilmany mill in Kaukauna, said its planned acquisition of Pixelle's Stevens Point facility will complement its food packaging business and strengthen its position in the U.S. market.

Helen Mets, the company's CEO, announced the acquisition during the company's first-quarter earnings call on April 28.

"It's a significant strengthening for our food and consumer packaging division, but also as a company overall," Mets said. "So, Stevens Point, a high-end solution provider in food packaging, label, and e-commerce segments based in North America, is so highly complementary to our food and consumer packaging division."

The company has a significant footprint in Wisconsin in specialty papers and packaging. In addition to the Thilmany mill, it owns the Nicolet mill in De Pere and two other mills in Rhinelander and Mosinee.

The intended acquisition continues to expand its presence in Wisconsin.

"This plant, based in the U.S., also strengthens our footprint in the local U.S. market, which we see anyway as beneficial," Mets said.

In early April, Pixelle Specialty Solutions announced it has agreed to sell the Stevens Point facility to Ahlstrom. The Pennsylvania-based company acquired the mill from Verso Corp in late 2019, making Pixelle the largest specialty papers producer for annual production in North America at that time.