CHILLICOTHE, OH – U.S. Senate candidate Bernie Moreno is demanding answers after the sudden closure of the historic Pixelle paper mill in Chillicothe left nearly 1,000 workers without jobs. In a sharply worded letter sent Thursday to H.I.G. Capital executives, Moreno condemned the decision as “corporate greed” and vowed to pursue a full investigation unless the company provides a detailed explanation.
In his letter addressed to H.I.G. Capital Co-CEOs Rick Bushnell and Sami Mnaymneh, Moreno criticized the closure, calling it a betrayal of generations of Ohioans who built their lives around the mill.
“You know what is an ‘extremely difficult decision?’ Figuring out how to feed and provide for your family when you’ve been laid off after dedicating 37 years of your life to an employer,” Moreno wrote.
The Pixelle paper mill has been a fixture in Chillicothe—known as “Paper City”—since its original construction in 1812. It has operated through world wars, the Great Depression, and recent global crises. But in 2024, following an acquisition by H.I.G. Capital, the company announced its plans to shut down the facility permanently, citing long-term business alignment.
Moreno isn’t buying it.
“Somehow your collective greed and/or inept business choices managed to close the doors to a paper mill that survived Pearl Harbor, 9/11, and a global pandemic,” he said. “The facts just don’t add up.”
Demands for Transparency
Moreno’s letter lists several demands for financial documents and internal decision-making records, including:
A timeline of when the decision to close the mill was made
Details of executive profits from the acquisition
The financial model used to justify the closure
A breakdown of the debt used in the acquisition and the terms of that loan
Pixelle’s audited financial statements over the past five years
He gave the company six business days to respond. If they fail to comply, Moreno threatened to issue subpoenas and urge federal agencies—including the Department of Justice and Department of Treasury—to investigate H.I.G.’s portfolio of companies.
“I won’t allow this carnage to stand,” Moreno wrote. “The only logical solution is for H.I.G. to divest itself from Pixelle and find an operator that knows how to successfully run and grow a company.”
Background and Next Steps
Pixelle Specialty Solutions, a leading provider of specialty paper products, has not yet publicly responded to the letter. The closure has sparked outrage across the region, with workers, unions, and local officials voicing frustration over the lack of transparency and support.
As the deadline for a response looms, Moreno has made it clear he intends to pursue every available legal and political avenue to hold the company accountable. Read the letter below:
