McQuirt Says Five Glove Lines Running at Old Chillicothe Mill

- Advertisement -

CHILLICOTHE — Fourth Ward Councilman Richard McQuirt released photos this week from inside the old paper mill and described a floor that is only partly in use. Five lines, he said, are making medical gloves for two federal contracts. Five more machines are being converted for surgical gloves. He also said the operation has FDA approval to make food-grade gloves, and that private-sector work is the path to more hours on that side of the building.

The pictures show what the words suggest: a high-bay industrial room, Ohio and U.S. flags on the columns, long glove machines along one wall, and a lot of empty concrete.

The company story is already on the record. Pixelle Specialty Solutions closed the Chillicothe mill in August 2025. U.S. Paper Mill, tied to U.S. Medical Glove Company, bought the plant that October. Company announcements this spring said about 150 people were involved in glove work, that American-made machines had stood up 15 nitrile lines with more in fabrication, and that another set of surgical lines was planned. In May the gloves passed a TSA quality test, which lets the plant supply the Central Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired for officer gloves. McQuirt’s count of lines actually running is lower than those earlier company figures. Both can be true if machines are installed and not all are in production. The food-grade approval is his account; it was not in the prior company releases checked for this story.

Hopewell Heritage Headlines has already covered the site as more than a glove plant. In June the paper asked U.S. Paper Mill whether the mill was becoming a data center and was told glove production was active. In July the company announced a planned high-performance computing campus with Alignment Engine, described as a $1.5 billion project, plus aerospace and box-making partners. In September a packed hearing at Chillicothe High School and a dispute over a nondisclosure agreement on a council tour kept the campus in the news.

Earlier coverage: heritageheadlines.com/chillicothe-data-center-rumors-we-reached-out-and-got-this-answer/ · heritageheadlines.com/chillicothe-paper-mill-site-to-include-high-performance-computing-campus-what-it-means-for-data-centers-in-southern-ohio/ · heritageheadlines.com/chillicothe-data-center-forum-packs-high-school-as-alignment-engine-defends-plan-at-old-mead-mill/

Next in Ross County: Chillicothe Mill Jobs: What they Pay and How To Apply

- Advertisement -