Prince Albert pulp mill to be reopened in 2020

VANCOUVER (Scrap Monster): The Prince Albert Paper and Pulp Mill, which was permanently closed in 2006, will be reopened in 2020. According to Paper Excellence, who currently owns the mill, work to prepare the mill could start by 2018. Two years from then, the mill could be restarted, said company spokesperson.

The mill was originally owned by Weyerhaeuser Company. It had decided to close the mill indefinitely in 2006 as part of its restructuring efforts. The company had then stated that the mill was no longer a strategic fit. The mill had an annual capacity of 280,000 tons of uncoated paper and 130,000 tons of market pulp at the time of indefinite closure. The decision also left nearly 690 hourly and salaried employees jobless.

Later in 2011, Paper Excellence acquired the closed mill, expecting to reopen it in the fall of 2013. It had initially planned to produce a product called dissolving pulp but then had decided to produce a different type of pulp, due to difficult market conditions. The estimated $90 million investment required for incorporating a new technology to produce paper pulp resulted in unexpected delay. The maintenance issues, especially mechanical and instrumentation problems, at the mill also contributed to the delay.

Kathy Cloutier, company spokesperson of Paper Excellence stated that a non-compete clause prevents them from producing pulp until 2020. The preparatory works at the mill will commence in 2018 and it expects to restart operations by 2020. The mill will provide 180-250 jobs once fully operational, she added.

Paper Excellence is privately owned group of companies in the pulp and paper industry. With our headquarters in Richmond, BC Canada, the Company has close to 2 million tonnes of pulp production capacity, 550,000 tonnes of paper production capacity through 6 mills in Canada, 2 mills in France in cities of Saint-Gaudens and Tarascon, and 1 paper mill in Germany. Paper Excellence employs approximately 2,600 employees in Canada.