Catalyst's first US investment was Snowflake Mill, which was acquired in 2008. Catalyst took steps to upgrade the mill, including investments to allow the plant to produce finer grades of paper. Snowflake was an early user of deinkling pulp and was amongst the first in the US to accept single-source recycling materials. This moves some of the recycling work from the recyclers, thus cutting their costs, in exchange for a stronger market position and lower raw prices. However, Snowflake Mill was stuck with a raw product flow which contain contaminants, such as plastic and metals.