A new company is leasing land at the site of the former Androscoggin Paper Mill in Jay.

The previous owners, Pixelle Specialty Solutions, started laying off workers after a pulp digester exploded in April of 2020. The mill, which employed generations of workers and was the lifeblood of the area’s economy, stopped producing paper last March.

On Friday, Gov. Janet Mills announced that Godfrey Paper Solutions leased land to build a facility that would produce oriented strand wood, a manufactured wood similar to particle board.

Gov. Mills says the project, which is expected to take 18-24 months, will create 125 jobs, in addition to construction jobs.

She says there are other proposals to develop the site as well.