OLD TOWN — A Wisconsin firm has entered into an agreement to purchase Old Town Fuel & Fiber, according to a news release issued Tuesday by Expera Specialty Solutions.

Expera intends to invest significant additional capital and resources into Old Town to ensure the highest level of production quality and capacity, the release stated.

“We are restarting the mill and plan to restore 180 jobs,” Expera spokeswoman Addie Teeters said Tuesday afternoon.

The Old Town mill closed in mid-August.

Old Town City Manager Bill Mayo was hunting Tuesday when he got a call the proposed sale had been announced.

“We’re very excited to have Expera come to Old Town,” Mayo said after returning to the city. “This mill will integrate in very well with their other operations.”

The city manager said he knew a possible sale was in the works but did not think it would be announced on Veterans Day.

“I was told Monday (by Teeters) that they were close to a deal,” he said. “I don’t have a lot of specifics. They have asked for a meeting to tell us those specifics, but a date has not been set yet.”

Old Town Fuel & Fiber owes the town about $1.5 million in back taxes, he said.

Four creditors in October filed paperwork in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Bangor to force the shuttered mill into bankruptcy, claiming they were owed a total of $1 million. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Louis Kornreich will need to approve the proposed sale to Expera.

“A combination of Expera and Old Town will significantly strengthen both businesses,” Expera CEO Russ Wanke said in the release. “In particular, the combination will increase Expera’s vertical integration into pulp and reduce Old Town’s go-forward commercial risk by becoming part of Expera, a financially strong enterprise that serves stable and growing end markets and possesses a dedicated base of long-term customers rather than as a standalone enterprise.”

Expera was formed last year, when KPS Capital Partners purchased Thilmany Papers and Wausau Specialty Paper, according to information on Expera’s website. The company makes bags for microwave popcorn, wine labels, candy wrappers and other specialty papers, according to a video about Expera on YouTube.

The firm owns four mills in Wisconsin located in Mosinee, De Pere, Rhinelander and Kaukauna, where the firm is headquartered, according information on its website. Kaukauna is located 20 miles south of Green Bay, according to Teeters.

“I am honored to welcome Expera to Maine. We appreciate their investment and determination to get this facility back up and running as quickly as possible,” Gov. Paul LePage stated in the news release. “The Old Town facility combines a valuable asset with tremendously knowledgeable and hardworking Mainers who are eager to get back to work.

“My administration will continue working with Expera as they move forward,” he stated. “This is terrific news for the future of Maine’s forest products industry.”

U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King also praised the intended purchase.

Old Town Fuel & Fiber blamed foreign competition and increasing wood and energy costs for the shutdown, which affected about 180 employees. In a subsequent release, the city of Old Town said the mill’s owner, New York-based private equity firm Patriarch Partners, planned to sell.

Lynn Tilton, owner of Patriarch Partners, concentrates on turning around failed manufacturing operations. Tilton’s firm purchased the former Georgia-Pacific mill for $19 million in a bankruptcy auction in 2008.

“It is with a heavy heart that we enter into this sale transaction,” Tilton said in a press release. “We invested millions of dollars fighting hard to preserve jobs and a business so critical to the economic health of this region. In the end, the fuel and energy costs required to operate a non-integrated mill in the Maine climate made this an unsustainable business operation for us.”

She thanked the governor and U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King for their support. Tilton also urged the prompt issuance of permits so operations can be resumed quickly.

“I encourage our elected officials to find a way to provide funding or other support to reduce the high costs of fuel and energy that make it difficult to sustain this type of business in Maine,” Tilton said.

In a joint press release, Collins and King welcomed the news of the impending sale.

“This is encouraging news for Maine’s forest products industry and for the workers in the Old Town area who lost their jobs earlier this year,” she said. “While there is much work to be done before this sale is finalized and people are brought back to work, I applaud the efforts of Expera Specialty Solutions and all those involved in this effort.”

“This is great news and an early Christmas present for the Old Town area and the state of Maine,” King said. “Expera will find a great workforce with deep experience at this mill who I’m sure will be happy to get back to work doing what they have done so well over the years.”