What Does ICE® Have To Do With Paper? 

Editor: Debbie Reaney

Paper mills were once a booming revenue source for Maine but now only six pulp and paper mills remain in operation within the state. Fortunately, one of them is Sappi's Somerset Mill in Skowhegan, where the employees proudly churn out one million tons of paper a year, but paper is not their only focus. The Sappi Somerset Mill is also serious about the environment, which is why the company uses every bit of the hard and softwood trees that are transported to the mill. The company says nothing is wasted.

To further invest in the future of Maine's pulp and logging industry, Sappi's Somerset is moving forward with an expansion of one of its mills and wisely selected the professionals at Maine Drilling & Blasting to help. Maine Drilling & Blasting (MD&B) is an employee-owned American small business with over 50 years of experience. Dedicated to safety and quality, the MD&B team provides drilling, blasting, foundation services, and other related specialty services within the New England, Mid-Atlantic and Southeast areas of the United States. The project brought on some challenges as it was to be completed in an active paper mill. Over 200 micropiles needed to be drilled and installed while working around the paper mill's daily operations. The work areas were extremely tight, with most piles being drilled just inches from obstructions. While the drilling operations were underway, demo and utility relocation were also happening simultaneously. To make matters more difficult, the drilling operation was happening in a mill location where all the finished paper products were packaged for shipment. The paper produced at the mill is all food grade paper, so safety and cleanliness measures were extremely important. Controlling the spoils (mess) from drilling and not allowing it to tarnish the paper was critical. With the total project cost in the multi-millions, and an extremely tight schedule, redundant standby equipment was rented to make sure that no breakdowns delayed the schedule. ICE® (International Construction Equipment,) was able to provide the project with brand new drill rigs that performed as expected with little to no downtime, allowing the contractor to stay on budget and on time.   

Maine Drilling rented three Comacchio MC-8D's from ICE® for this project, as well as a fourth owned drill that had been previously purchased from ICE®. Due to its size and power, the MC-8D was selected as it was the largest of the smaller drill rigs that could safely fit into the working conditions. The MC 8D is a versatile and powerful hydraulic drilling rig, designed for civil engineering works such as micropiles, anchors and ground improvement in general through the use of all rotary and/or rotary- percussive drilling systems. Another reason this machine was chosen was due to the size and depth of the pile. Hundreds of 8" (in) drilled piles with 3" (in) reinforcement bars needed to be placed 60-100 feet deep and the contractor felt that anything smaller than the MC-8D would not have been up to the task. Every function and kinematic set up that the MC-8D could be utilized for was used, giving access to even the most challenging holes. MD&B also required the three rental MC-8D's at the same time for a continuous three months, which is a challenge in itself. ICE® was able to provide the crew with the equipment needed with only two to three weeks' notice. According to the project manager, "If the ICE® Sales & Service team had not been able to meet the rental demand, we would have had to look at other vendors, which would have complicated operations and slowed the project down." 

The mill plans to have the expansion finished by April 2025. 

International Construction Equipment, Inc. (ICE®) applauds Maine Drilling & Blasting's abilities to face these challenges head on and congratulates them on a job well-done. We look forward to continuing to supply MD&B, as well as all of our clients, with the foundation equipment they need to help them accomplish their project goals in an efficient and timely manner. 

Learn more about the Comacchio MC-8D and other Fully Articulated Multipurpose Rigs offered by the ICE Drilling Sales and Service Team

Media Contact-     
Pollyanna Cunningham, MA, MBA     
Vice President Marketing, Brand and Media Relations   

Vice President IT and IT Comm  
ICE® - International Construction Equipment, Inc     
Office - 704-821-8200     
Email - marketing@iceusa.com