Paperitalo CEO Jim Thompson, Executive Vice President Helen Roush and Vice President, Publisher and Editor Steve Roush toured the 130,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility in Lebanon with Kadant Black Clawson President Peter Flynn. The company moved into its new manufacturing and office site in February 2018, which had operated out of Mason, Ohio since 2002. Kadant Black Clawson also employs nine regional sales managers across the country and two in Canada.

"We're excited to be creating great manufacturing jobs that offer highly competitive wages and benefits starting on day one," Flynn said prior to the move. "Kadant is a great company to work for with many opportunities to make a difference in the workplace and in our community."

Kadant Black Clawson is a producer of fiber processing systems for the pulp and paper industry. More than half of America's recycled waste paper is processed on Black Clawson equipment, the company said. The company moved its existing 65 employees from Mason, and hired approximately 50 new full-time production employees.

Kadant Black Clawson's roots stretch back to Butler County, Ohio. In 1873, Francis Black and Linus Clawson established Black Clawson as a machinery repair shop in Hamilton, according to Nancy Myles, human resources manager for Kadant. Shortly after, they expanded their product line to include paper machinery. In 1892, Charles Shartle arrived on the scene and recognized the abundance of paper mills in the area and their need for repairs.

"He started the Middletown Machine Shop in 1892, and in 1899, the Shartle Brothers Machinery Company was formed to design and manufacture paper machinery," Myles said. "Because Shartle and Black Clawson's equipment complemented each other so well, in 1926 Black Clawson purchased Shartle Brothers and the Black Clawson Company-Shartle Division was formed with headquarters in Middletown."

That small beginning evolved over the years into Kadant Black Clawson, which has operated out of Mason and now Lebanon since 2002.

Kadant's primary product lines are:

• Fiber processing systems for recovering recycled fibers and processing virgin fibers

• Fluid handling systems that transfer fluid, power, and data between fixed piping and rotating components

• Roll doctoring and scraping products that clean roll surfaces

• Cleaning and filtration systems that clean fabrics and filter and recycle process water

• Wood processing systems to debark and cut logs into strands used in the production of OSB, lumber, and other wood-based products

• Baling equipment and systems to process recyclable waste and other materials for transport and storage