Domtar Builds a Future in Nekoosa Through Energy Savings
2026 Energy Efficiency Excellence Award
Beyond Mill Gates
Making paper takes water, heat and power. At Domtar’s Nekoosa Mill, employees are finding ways to use less of all three while helping a longtime community employer stay competitive. The mill employs more than 400 people and contributes an estimated $600 million each year to the regional economy. For the families and businesses connected to it, decisions made on the production floor can reach well beyond the mill gates. That is why Domtar’s work with Focus on Energy and Alliant Energy matters. The partnership helps employees turn ideas into practical improvements, earning the mill a 2026 Energy Efficiency Excellence Award.
Turning Ideas Into Projects
Progress starts with a team that meets regularly and keeps looking for opportunities. Domtar has its own Energy Advisor from Focus on Energy; Gary Hegewald works alongside mill employees with support from the program’s pulp and paper specialists. Support doesn’t end when Domtar completes an energy efficiency project. Employees can always get answers to technical questions, consistent energy audits help find waste, and expert guidance helps the team develop solutions suited to the mill’s operations.
“They meet routinely. They look for opportunities, and they’ve gotten very creative at finding new, innovative ways to save energy,” Hegewald said.
Finding a solution is only part of the process. The mill must also find room for it in the budget.
“The financial incentives allow us to keep good energy-saving projects moving forward as we face budget constraints,” said Ben King, Domtar Continuing Improvement Manager.
King also credited Domtar’s Mark Snyder with keeping projects moving. That steady attention helps the team carry ideas through to completion.
Using Less to Make More Paper
Making paper requires electricity to run equipment and heat to dry each sheet. Removing more water during pressing means less energy needed for drying. With Focus on Energy support, Domtar has added a new refiner and improved its compressed air system. Employees also look for ways to save energy by changing how existing equipment runs.
Thirteen projects completed in 2024 and 2025 saved 3.8 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually and 1.7 million therms of natural gas. Together, those savings are equivalent to providing electricity to almost 2,450 homes.
“The savings have to be measurable," said Commissioner Kristy Nieto, Public Service Commission of Wisconsin. "They have to be independently verified, and they have to be valuable to the people and the businesses who pay into the system,” Nieto said.
Keeping Work Moving
Wisconsin State Rep. Scott Krug credited employees with turning those opportunities into results.
“It’s the people here in this facility that really make the difference every day,” Krug said.
By August 2026, Domtar had completed nine more projects with another 10 in the pipeline plus a planned pulp mill energy audit to search for future opportunities. Interim Mill Manager Craig Helgeson explained why this work is vital for the industry.
“We use our limited capital resources to do the things that help keep a place sustainable and make money,” Helgeson said.
Sustainablity. It's not just for the mill. For Nekoosa, saving energy helps protect something people understand without a calculator: a local employer, the jobs it provides, and the families who depend on them.
