LONGVIEW, Washington (From news reports) -- A Longview paper mill that built its reputation on "superior quality newsprint" will stop making the product at the end of the month, according to industry reports.

North Pacific Paper Co. in Longview, better known as NORPAC, is phasing out its production of newsprint-grade paper effective May 1, according to news first reported by Recycling Today late last month.

A call to NORPAC CEO Craig Anneberg was not returned Wednesday.

According to the Recycling Today report, NORPAC is expected to shift its production to recycled packaging-grade paper. The publication in December had ranked NORPAC in Longview as the ninth-largest consumer of recovered paper in North America, at 575,000 tons. The company at 3401 Industrial Way employs 450 people from its single mill.

The company's website no longer lists newsprint as one of its products, but NORPAC listed newsprint on its site earlier this year. According to a Jan. 20 snapshot of NORPAC's website on the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine, NORPAC stated that the company's reputation was "built on producing superior quality newsprint."

The Recycling Today report states that NORPAC's decision follows plummeting supplies and falling demand for newsprint.