McAuliffe bids to buy Franklin mill

Terry McAuliffe, an unsuccesssful candidate for governor in 2009, is in the running again — this time, to buy a soon-to-close Southside paper factory he wants

to convert to a wood-fired power plant.

McAuliffe and other investors are pitching to International Paper Co. to purchase the firm’s giant Franklin mill in Isle of Wight County, which is to be closed this year, throwing 1,100 people of work.

McAuliffe and one of his partners, Peter O’Keefe, a longtime political associate, declined to discuss details of their offer to Mem-

phis-based International Paper, citing confidentiality requirements.

McAuliffe said the proposal is not tied to a possible repeat bid for governor in 2013; that he is only doing as a private investor what he emphasized during his run for the Democratic nomination last June: focusing on creating so-called green jobs.

“I would be doing this, governor or no governor,“ McAuliffe said yesterday — the eve of a visit to the plant this afternoon by Gov. Bob McDonnell, a Republican, and his top economic advisers. “There’s no political implication.“

International Paper, closing the Franklin mill because of the recession and overcapacity in the paper-making industry, is considering offers for the Virginia plant and others. Proposals are due Feb. 26.

“We are, indeed, very interested in acquiring the Franklin facility,“ O’Keefe said. “We think that we’ve got a very competitive offer.“

The closing is a huge blow to Franklin, erasing a source of jobs for three generations of workers. The shutdown is part of a larger pattern — the steady loss of manufacturing jobs across the rural southern tier of the state for more than a decade as companies battle cheaper foreign competitors or shift jobs overseas.

It was not immediately clear how many jobs the McAuliffe-led offer might generate. However, there was speculation it could ultimately produce about 1,000 jobs — not just at the plant, but in related areas, such as harvesting trees as fuel.

Further, such a plant could link up with the power grid, perhaps selling electricity to Virginia’s vast information-technology industry.

“I am interested in moving [the state] forward in green power . . . to preserve and create jobs,“ said McAuliffe, who also is the head of an electric-car company that is considering building a factory in Virginia.

Contact Jeff E. Schapiro at (804) 649-6814 or .