Worker hospitalized after being electrocuted at Sappi mill in Skowhegan

CENTRAL MAINE • August 13, 2026

A worker was electrocuted by machinery at a Somerset County paper mill Thursday morning, officials confirmed. First responders were called to the mill just before 10 a.m. for a report of a male employee who was unconscious and not breathing after being shocked while working on a machine at the Somerset Sappi mill. The Somerset Sappi mill has seen a number of safety incidents in recent years. A company that contracts workers at the mill was fined around $13,000 last year after a worker fell some 40 feet while on the job. A large fire there in January last year took several hours to extinguish. Sappi North America, a Boston-headquartered subsidiary of South Africa-based Sappi Limited, operates the Somerset Mill. About 780 employees work at the mill, which is off U.S. Route 201. In addition to the Somerset Mill, Sappi operates mills in Westbrook; Cloquet, Minnesota; and Matane, Quebec.