 In 1977, employing 500 people, the company and mill were bought by the St Regis Paper Company of New York City.In 1979, the work force of 280 was producing 1,500 tonnes of product a week form mainly recycled pulp, including brown paper for use by the cardboard box industry, plus glazed and wet strength papers for bags, envelopes, wallpapers, and wrappings.After St Regis merged with Champion International Paper in 1983, in 1986 DS Smith plc, now the UK's largest producer of paper from recycled materials, acquired the UK and European assets of the St Regis Paper Company for £83million.