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1816
Fort Howard is an outpost erected on the Fox River to help protect the flourishing fur trade.
 1919
In February, Austin E. Cofrin starts the Fort Howard Paper Company. The thirty-six year old Cofrin is a no-nonsense Yankee entrepreneur who stresses independence, aggressiveness and a sense of family. Cofrin gathers investors and purchases land on the west side of Fox River south of Green Bay. In October, Fort Howard's original building is completed, and houses the first paper machine and all other machinery and activities for the new company.
 1920
In January, paper production begins. In November, excavation for the second building begins, just eight months after the first shipment left the mill.
 1927
Construction starts on the first boiler plant.
1928
The fireproof structure is finished.
1931
Workers no longer have to unload and haul kraft pulp manually. The first towmotor, a gasoline-powered tractor, is purchased. It hauled a train consisting of 13 truckloads of pulp at one time from the dock to the mill.
1960
John Cofrin, son of the founder, is named company president.
1968
No. 8, new high-speed paper machine, starts up and produces saleable paper the first afternoon - a rare achievement in the paper industry.
1971
First common stock issue sold to the public.
 1974
Paul Schierl named president
1976
Construction begins on a second papermaking and converting facility in Muskogee, Okla.
1980
Fort Howard's expansion includes the acquisition of Harmon Associates, a New York-based wastepaper broker, which provides a portion of the mill's raw material.
 1982
Fort Howard expands to Europe through its purchase of The Sterling Group, a British sanitary paper producer and converter of retail products.
1983
Fort Howard acquires Maryland Cup Corp., the nation's largest manufacturer of single use paper and plastic products for food and beverage service, and a major manufacturer of containers for ice cream, dairy and other food items.
 1984
The largest single modernization project in Green Bay begins operation. The No. 10 paper machine is the widest tissue machine in the world.
Schierl named board chairman. Don DeMeuse elected president.
 1985
Construction of a third papermaking and converting mill begins in Savannah, Ga.
1986
Lily-Tulip Corp. is purchased.
1988
Fort Howard is taken private at $53 per share by management and investment banker Morgan Stanley.
 1989
Ecosource is established by Fort Howard and becomes a subsidiary. Ecosource uses a semi-automated system to sort nearly a quarter million pounds of mixed wastepaper daily from offices throughout the upper Midwest for recycling at the Green Bay paper mill.
1990
DeMeuse named Chief Executive Officer.
1991
West Mason Inc. opens in Green Bay.
 1992
A new paper machine starts up in Green Bay, manufacturing tissue grades at speeds up to 6,000 feet per minute.
Fort Howard builds a new tissue paper machine and other related facilities to double the capacity of its British mill.
Michael Riordan named President and Chief Operating Officer.
1994
Fort Howard announces plans for a $300 million public offering.
1995
Fort Howard re-emerges as a public company with a stock price of $12.62 per share.
1996
Fort Howard's joint venture in Shanghai begins making products.
W.W. Grainger named Fort Howard its single-source supplier.
Fort Howard is one of 20 U.S. organizations to receive the U.S. EPA's WasteWise award for its comprehensive and successful waste reduction programs.
DeMeuse retires; Riordan named Chairman, President and CEO.
1997
Fort Howard is acquired by James River Corp. of Richmond, Va., creating a $7.3 billion consumer products company named Fort James.
1999
Fort Howard operates nine of the 11 largest 270 inch-wide tissue machines in the world.
2000
On July 17, Fort James merges with Georgia-Pacific Corporation for $11 billion.
2002
Georgia-Pacific celebrates its 75th year in business.
2003
All four facilities in Green Bay merge into one "virtual" mill with shared administrative functions.
2004/2005
GP invests $60 million in mill capital improvements; #9 Paper Machine is rebuilt and is "one of a kind" in the paper industry because it makes air-dried, very soft commercial tissue.
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