Biohazard and Pathogen Disinfection in Nekoosa, WI

Nekoosa is a city in Wood County, Wisconsin, on the Wisconsin River; its name derives from the Ho-Chunk word 'Nįįkuusra,' which translates to 'running water.'

Daniel Whitney built the first sawmill on the Wisconsin River at Whitney's Rapids here in 1831, making Nekoosa the birthplace of Wood County.

The early settlement was known as Point Basse and grew around Wakeley's tavern, a rendezvous for the raftsmen who floated lumber down the river from the northern pineries to Mississippi River markets.

The population of Nekoosa was 2,449 at the 2020 census, down slightly from 2,580 in 2010, when the city had 1,065 households.

Paper making has dominated Nekoosa's economy for well over a century: the Nekoosa Paper Company was incorporated in 1893 and built a mill and an 888-foot dam across the Wisconsin River.

In 1908 the Nekoosa mill merged with a paper company in nearby Port Edwards to form the Nekoosa Edwards Paper Company, known as NEPCO.

The mill's corporate lineage continued through the Great Northern Nekoosa Corporation in 1970 and a hostile takeover by Georgia-Pacific in 1990, and today the mill is operated by Domtar.

Domtar's Nekoosa Mill is a fully integrated specialty paper mill employing about 431 people, and it can generate 100 percent of its own electricity while producing publishing, specialty and security papers.

Nekoosa is also home to Nekoosa Coated Products, a company the city credits with creating the world's first magnetic paper.

Domtar allows company-owned lands around the mill to be used as recreational parks for public enjoyment.