Montville, Connecticut, USA 13 January 2016 -- (From The Day) -- The WestRock corrugated packing plant in Uncasville will close permanently at the end of January, according to a company spokesperson.

Officials from the Georgia-based company informed the 85 local employees that the mill would be closing permanently Tuesday afternoon, WestRock spokesperson Tucker McNeil said 13 January 2016.

"It's about matching our supply and our system to our customers' demands," McNeil said. "We've got a big mill system, and we have to be able to match the entire supply."

The Montville mill, which produces about 166,000 tons of corrugated cardboard packaging per year, was temporarily shut down in October.

It was one of four plants that WestRock, formerly known as RockTenn, was "indefinitely idling" following its purchase of SP Fiber Holdings, Inc. in October, according to industry publication RISI/PPI Pulp & Paper Week.

The plant reopened a month later, Montville Mayor Ronald McDaniel said.

In addition to the Uncasville location, the company has permanently shut down two other plants in the last two months, McNeil said.

The company owns more than 30 plants in the U.S., Brazil and India.

McDaniel said the company has not said what it plans to do with the plant at 12 Depot Road near the intersection with Route 32.

"They can sell it to another entity to run it as a mill, they could take the equipment to another of their mills..." he said. "They have given me no indication of what their plans are."

In addition to the 85 WestRock employees, the news will also affect employees of secondary companies, such as transportation and construction firms, who depend on the plant for work, he said.

"It certainly was horrible news for the people there," he said.