Monday, November 2, 2015 11:45 am

MONTVILLE, Connecticut (From the Norwich Bulletin) -- A weeks-long indefinite closure at the WestRock corrugated packaging plant in Uncasville may soon be over.

Montville Mayor Ronald McDaniel said last Tuesday he received word the plant, formerly called RockTenn, could resume activities, though he hadn't heard directly from company officials.

"I have been told by several reliable sources that the workers received back-to-work notices," he said.

WestRock spokesman Tucker McNeil said last week he couldn't confirm the "indefinite idling," as the company calls it, was over or that the plant would resume operations.

"We maintain and manage the mill still," he said. "We're just not making product on the machines."

The Depot Road plant, which employs 87 people, according to the company, has been idle since early October. It's led to much speculation in the community about whether the plant was facing a permanent closure and layoffs. There are 70 hourly employees and 17 salaried workers, McNeil said.

"This is all about balancing our supply with our customers' demands," McNeil said.

On Oct. 1, WestRock announced its completion of the acquisition of SP Fiber Holdings Inc. Through the transaction, WestRock acquired mills in Dublin, Ga., and Newberg, Ore., that produce lightweight recycled containerboard.

The company announced it was closing a paper mill in Coshocton, Ohio, by the end of November, eliminating jobs for 180 hourly workers and 45 salaried employees. It also said it was indefinitely idling a plant in Fernandina Beach, Fla.

Virginia-based WestRock was formed July 1 with the merger of MeadWestvaco Corp. and Georgia-based Rock-Tenn. The combined company has about 42,000 employees and had about $15.7 billion in sales last year, second in the paper and packaging industry to International Paper Co.