CARTHAGE, New York (From the Daily Times) -- Metro Paper Industries confirmed it will stop production at its New York facility on 26 Feb. 2016, laying off 20 full-time employees.

Metro, headquartered in Toronto, is now trying to sell the facility, said Christine A. Osterhout, administrator of the paper mill. She said the building could be used for a number of purposes.

"Owners hope to find someone to utilize the facility as a warehouse, purchase the equipment outright or start it up and running again," Mrs. Osterhout said Thursday. "It's a big space that could be used as a warehouse for storage."

Though it is unlikely, she said, it is possible the mill could resume papermaking operations if the company is able to soon find a customer to purchase its paper products. No offers, however, have been made.

The mill, which opened in 2000 as Metro's only U.S. location, manufactures paper towels, facial tissue, napkins, toilet paper and dispenser rolls. Metro also has two papermaking operations in Ontario, based in Trenton and Scarborough.

Mrs. Osterhout said that while about 10 employees will continue to temporarily work at the mill after production stops, they probably won't remain employed long unless the company finds a solution to quickly resume operations.

"It could be shut down altogether," she said, "but there would still have to be a few maintenance workers to maintain the building."

She said that smaller paper manufacturers, like Metro, have had a challenging time surviving in the industry. Larger competitors have an distinct advantage.

"The bigger you are, the better chances you have of surviving because of the better buying power involved," said Mrs. Osterhout, who has been employed at the mill for six years. "In any market there are ebbs and flows, and this time of the year does tend to be a little bit slower."

As production at the site folds, the company still owes loans to public agencies.

Three agencies each contributed $250,000 toward a $750,000 sink-or-swim loan in 2008, which the company used to help fund a $2.8 million expansion project needed to keep the Carthage mill open. Signing off on the loan were the Carthage Economic Development Corp., Jefferson County Industrial Development Agency and Development Authority of the North Country.

At that time, the company threatened to relocate the mill if it didn't acquire the loan. Officials confirmed on Wednesday that the company still collectively owes the agencies about $182,000, about $60,000 each. As collateral for the loan, agencies have a claim on four pieces of machinery worth a total of about $1.4 million that Metro installed during its expansion.