In 1950, the coating mill building at Luke was now used as a general paper mill finishing room.. In Covington, 10 - 4000 cubic foot digesters were installed along with two three stage washing lines and eight vibrator screens. Also No. 8 Paper Machine was authorized. The excellent engineering management made it possible to construct a new machine building and the wet and dry ends of the machine around the existing No. 3 and 4 paper machines while they continued to run. No. 8 Paper Machine started up in 1953. It was the first machine at Covington designed to run bleached board.

By 1951, a new beater room was completed for No. 6 and 7 Paper Machines at Luke. Also this year, the rotaries were shut down, the smelter operation began and a precipitator was installed on No. 1 recovery unit.

The carbon plant at Luke was closed down in 1952 and No. 5 and 6 Paper Machines were rebuilt. There was a UPIU strike in Covington during this year also.

In 1953, Rigesa, S. A. in San Paulo, Brazil was acquired with its small pulp and board mill and a modern box factory to be operated as a wholly-owned subsidiary. Also that year, The Hinde and Dauch Paper Company was acquired along with its 13 box factories as a wholly-owned subsidiary, and Hinde and Dauch Company of Canada, Ltd., a partially-owned subsidiary with eight corrugated box factories, a folding box plant and a pulp and board plant. Linerboard production ceased in Covington and all tonnage was transferred to the Charleston mill due to the low strength of pulp from Virginia pine. No. 7 Paper machine was then shifted from linerboard to cup paper which required additional bleaching capacity. This need was met by the installation of a second bleaching unit.

Covington No. 3 and 4 Paper Machines are shutdown and are replaced by the start-up of No. 8 Paper Machine.

In 1954, new No. 1 digester started operation at the Luke Mill. Hinde and Dauch Company of Canada purchased controlling interest in the Corrugated Paper Box Company, Ltd., with its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Hilton Brothers Ltd., and Carton Specialties, Ltd. A coating section for Covington No 8 Paper Machine was authorized. The trailing blade coater is started up in 1957. In rapid succession, a second trailing blade coater and gloss calender followed.

The chalk plant in Covington is closed in 1955. A radically new waste water treatment plant is installed at Covington. It is the first activated sludge, secondary waste treatment plant in the paper industry. Before this plant began operating, partial recovery of the Jackson River from the mill's pollution was not observed until Springwood, some 65 miles downstream from the mill.

1956 saw the installation of a trailing knife coater on No. 1 Paper Machine at Luke. A $50 million expansion program was announced for the Luke Mill. Production will be doubled to about 1,000 tons per day with the installation of two new 246-inch wide paper machines and the necessary attendant facilities. Luke was to become one of the very largest fine paper mills in the world. Luke now employed 1,900 persons. At various times 1,000 persons expected to be working on the construction exclusive of Luke mill people. The mill expects to add over 400 more employees.

At Covington, pulpwood concentration yards are authorized in 1956. Eleven yard were set up in the area from which Covington normally shipped wood in by rail. When the yards were completed, all purchasing was done from wood producers instead of dealers. All wood was bought by weight rather than by volume.

The Luke mill expansion began in 1957. The Hinde and Dauch Division was formed from the subsidiary company and had 14 factories. Paper machines 4 and 5 were rebuilt at Luke. The new paper machine at Charleston went into production. Virginia Folding Box Company of Richmond, Va was acquired with its 200 employees. Hinde and Dauch start up new box factories in Easton, Ohio and Meriden, Connecticut.

In 1958 a new flakeboard plant began operations at the Tyrone mill. The Charleston mill began production of Clupak a revolutionary new stretchable paper. A new factory was opened in Torrance, Ca to produce multiwall and grocery bags. This was the first time in company history that it had manufacturing operations west of the Rockies.

Two multiwall bag plants were purchased from Arkell and Smiths at Wellsburg, W. Va and Mobile, Alabama. Four hundred people were employed at the two plants. At Luke, the new finishing room was completed. Also the chlorine dioxide generating plant and the chlorine dioxide bleaching plant were built. Subsequently the chlorine plant equipment was sold in 1959.

In 1958, The AFL and the CIO merged and the local union in Covington became the United Papermakers and Paperworkers, AFL/CIO.

The company stock interest in Hinde and Dauch of Canada was sold in 1959. An expansion program began at Virginia Folding Box where production was to be doubled over a three year period. At Luke, the demineralizer plant was built.