NIAGARA, Wis. – Pentair Ltd., a former owner of the Niagara paper mill, is celebrating its 50th anniversary next year.

Pentair was a small company trying to get established when it acquired the Niagara mill from Kimberly-Clark in 1972.

The company offered profit-sharing to employees and operated the mill until 1997, when it was sold to Consolidated Papers Inc. The mill would undergo a couple more ownership changes before it ended production in 2008.

Today, Pentair is a multinational industrial firm headquartered in the United Kingdom. Its main U.S. office is located near Minneapolis.

Pentair representatives visited Niagara last week as part of a video project, recapping stories that have been key to the company’s values over the past 50 years.

Jocelyn Okubo, video producer for Pentair, said the group is telling the story of “a really rich heritage.” She was pleased with what she learned in Niagara.

“I’ve found that this wasn’t so much a takeover as it was a collaborative, well supported effort to gain new ownership,” she said.

Niagara resident Louise Hohol agrees. “It certainly was a big thing. Kimberly-Clark was very good to Niagara so when they talked about leaving, 600 or 800 jobs, believe me Pentair was a blessing.”

City officials welcomed Pentair last week with a luncheon catered by Jim’s Restaurant, held at the Niagara Clubhouse, serving the original clubhouse chili recipe, pasties and cookies.

In the early days the clubhouse was a hub for Niagara, housing the library, bus depot, a restaurant, courthouse, credit union, police station, and post office. It was even a lodge hall, movie theatre, bowling alley, high school gym and pool hall.

“We came here for everything, basketball games, movies, bowling, soda fountain, the kids all congregated here,” said Hohol.

The Pentair group enjoyed the community social at the clubhouse. “I love that they’ve made lunch. It’s really sweet” said Okubo.

The video crew photographed the town and interviewed several native

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