The Sound of Jobs is Loud and Clear at Manistique Papers
One year ago, Manistique Papers filed for bankruptcy, but today the company is a vibrant employer thanks to people working together in the name of reinvention. On Monday, Governor Rick Snyder stopped by the paper mill as part of his tour of the Upper Peninsula, and Jason Raiche of The Daily Press was on hand to report on the event:
At the town hall meeting, held outside of Manistique Papers Monday afternoon, Snyder commented on the noise of the mill as “the sound of jobs,” before highlighting Michigan as the comeback state of the U.S.
“It’s great to be here,” said Snyder. “Michigan is the comeback state of the United States today, and we should be proud of that. We were at the bottom. We were at the bottom not just for a couple years, but for a whole decade, and we’re coming back strong.”
Snyder noted the most important asset in the state are its people, to whom he attributes Michigan’s comeback.
He recalled one year ago when he was touring the U.P. and received the phone call with the news of Manistique Papers’ closing.
“We changed the plan. I came down, went to mBank, sat in a meeting where Jon presented the vision for what this company could become,” recalled Snyder. “He was able to talk about the people of the community coming together that believe in the future of this facility; to say, ‘It’s about jobs, it’s about the livelihood of a community,’ and because of that passion, of the community, of the team, we were able to get behind all that.”
He added the community is the biggest party to thank for doing the right thing by working together and having a positive attitude, ensuring Manistique Papers would have a future. “The attitude is we can do this, we will do this – be positive, forward-looking and working as a team,” said Snyder. “That is the spirit of our state. That is the spirit of this comeback, and I hope you keep that fire and passion going because we have much more work to do. So we want to keep that wonderful noise going, that noise of jobs.”