Northwestern Ontario Sawmill Returns to Operation, After Prolonged Shutdown

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The Kenora Forest Products northwestern Ontario sawmill has found a buyer, almost one year since it was shutdown.

The mill was purchased by 1347 LLC-one of the investee companies of Itasca Capital Limited for a sum of $11.5 million. The mill facility was purchased from a receiver as the parent company of Kenora Forest Products and owner of the mill, Prendiville Industries, had declared bankruptcy last year. The purchase deal covers sawmill and related assets, in addition to the nearly 114 acres of land. The transaction is expected to be completed by first week of October this year.

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Commenting on the new development, Steve Boon, Unifor spokesperson said that the union looks forward to meet the new owners to discuss about the plans for a possible restart at the earliest. This is great news for around 125 union members at the mill. More details will be provided after its meeting with representatives of Itasca Capital.

The owners announced that they plan to change the name of the company to GreenFirst Forest Products. The planned investment at the mill will optimize the sawmill operations so as to achieve production capacity of 200 million board feet. The goal is to bring the Kenora mill online as early as possible, they assured.

It must be noted that the saw mill has been shut since September 2019.