Tag Archives: Terrace Bay Pulp

Terrace Bay Pulp will not be restarting operations as scheduled on March 1st.

And now the mill is for sale.

It is believed that the current owner, The Buchanan Group, headed by company founder Ken Buchanan Sr., has lost its financial backer. Terrace Bay Pulp exited creditor protection in the fall of 2010 with the help of $30 million in capital from Toronto lender Callidus Capital Corporation, and a $25 million loan from the province of Ontario.

The community of Terrace Bay, Ontario sensed there was bad news coming about their mill. Union officials said the company unexpectedly paid out about $2 million in vacation pay last month.

The mill announced it was taking 3 months of downtime starting on November 30, 2011.

In 2006 it appeared the mill was about to be torn down, but The Buchanan Group made a deal to transfer to assets of the mill to them from Neenah Paper for $18 million.

Read more:
Northwest pulp mill for sale (The Chronicle Journal)

Terrace Bay Pulp has decided to take 3 months of downtime, starting on November 30.

There had been rumours for months that the pulp mill was struggling. Terrace Bay’s mayor, Mike King, said he believes the decision to idle the mill is simply the fallout from the ongoing slump in the global economy. King said he remains confident that the mill will reopen at the end of February as the company has forecast. “They told me that they will continue to make repairs and invest in the mill during the shutdown, so we take them at their word,” said King. “This is not an issue of (the company) walking away.”

The shutdown is not believed to be linked to last month’s blow tank explosion, which killed an employee.

Terrace Bay Pulp restarted in September 2010 after being idle for 20 months after it was able to obtain refinancing, including a $25 million loan from the province.

Terrace Bay Pulp is owned by the Buchanan Group and employees 350 people.

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Mill faces shutdown (The Chronicle Journal)

Operations are expected to resume at Terrace Bay Pulp by this weekend.

The mill has been shut down since the explosion on October 31 of the large blow tank killed one worker and injured two others.

The main boiler was expected to be restarted last night. There are two other blow tanks on site that will be used for producing pulp.

The workers are expected to be recalled for work by Friday.

The investigation into the fatal explosion is continuing.

Read more:
Terrace Bay Pulp should resume operations this weekend: Union (TbNewsWatch)

Local residents have identified TJ Berthelot as the victim of Monday’s explosion at Terrace Bay Pulp.

TJ Berthelot was from nearby Schreiber, Ontario. In his late twenties, Berthelot leaves behind a wife and a baby daughter.

Two other people were taken to hospital for non-life threatening injuries.

The mill is expected to be down for at least the rest of the week while the explosion is investigated.

The fire marshal, police, and the Ontario Ministry of Labour are investigating. Two labour inspectors and one engineer have been assigned to the case.

Terrace Bay resident Mike Deslauriers said he smelled something like burning plastic and then he heard an explosion. The man said the explosion blew the roof off a brownstock tank at the back of the mill. (Brownstock is a part of the wood pulp digesting process.) The incident took place in what’s known as “the old mill” or the No. 1 mill.

Terrace Bay Mayor Mike King said the community is in mourning. He said serious accidents at the mill have been rare over the years. King said the mill has a pretty good safety record, but it’s a large complex with complicated machinery, and can be a hazardous place to work.

Read more:
Community in mourning after fatal accident – Witness says Terrace Bay Pulp building seemed to blow in on itself (CBC)
Mill blast claims life of young father (The Chronicle Herald)

There was an explosion yesterday at Terrace Bay Pulp in Terrace Bay, Ontario.

One person has killed, and two other were taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. A large “blow tank” exploded while a worker was welding it, sending metal and debris flying.

The mill was evacuated after the incident and has ceased operations while the incident is being investigated by the Ontario Fire Marshal’s office, the coroner’s office, the Ministry of Labour and the Ontario Provincial Police’s North West Crime Unit.

Terrace Bay Pulp has been back in operation since last November. Owned by the Buchanan Group, the mill was idled for 19 months while the company was under creditor protection. The mill was able to reopen after securing $55 million in government and private loans.

Read more:
Deadly Explosion (TbNewsWatch)
Tragedy at Terrace Bay Pulp (Chronicle Journal)
Reports of Explosion at Terrace Bay Pulp Mill (NetNewsLedger)

There was an upbeat ceremony in Terrace Bay, Ontario yesterday to celebrate the restarting of the Terrace Bay Pulp mill.

It was a long and emotional 19 months for the company and the workers while Terrace Bay Pulp sought credit protection to restructure.

After losing their financial support twice, Terrace Bay Pulp’s luck turned around when they looked towards a little known Toronto lender, Callidus Capital Corporation.

Last month, Callidus Capital Corporation came through with $30 million in investment capital that allowed the mill to finally reopen.

Terrace Bay Pulp founder Ken Buchanan Sr. paid tribute Monday to Callidus president Sam Fleiser, who was among the crowd.

“Sam worked diligently to help us get where we are today,” Buchanan said. “He helped lift this mill off the ground.”

Just four years ago it was Buchanan himself who was seen as the saviour in Terrace Bay, after his company took over the mill from Neenah Paper who was making plans to scrap the operation.

At the ceremony yesterday, Buchanan said, “This is the second opening we‘ve had, and I hope it‘s the last. It‘s been a very hard grind to get where we are.”

Read more:
Back in business (The Chronicle Journal)

Terrace Bay Pulp has been cleared for re-opening.

The Buchanan Group has announced that late last night, it exited creditor protection.

Now 340 people can be recalled to their jobs at the mill in Terrace Bay, Ontario.

The deal was finalized last night with $30 million in investment capital provided by Callidus Capital Corporation.

With Callidus’ investment, Terrace Bay Pulp has ensured that it will receive a $25 million loan from the province of Ontario. This loan was conditional on finding additional financing that would used to pay off nearly $35 million that Terrace Bay Pulp owes to creditors.

Currently the company is aiming to have the mill producing pulp by the first week of October.

Woodland operations will restart immediately.

Read more:
Back in Business (TbNewsWatch)

Terrace Bay Pulp is still putting the pieces together so that they can except from creditor protection and restart their idled mill.

Right now, the company is aiming to emerge from their protection period between September 5 to 10.

The company is working with a new lender so they can receive an asset backed loan that will provide them with operational funding to restart the mill.

Terrace Bay Pulp recently dropped the lender they had been working with over the last 2 months because it looked like that lender would cause the company further delays.

The Superior Court of Justice has given the company an extension of their creditor protection period – until September 17.

Sixty employees are back at work in Terrace Bay already, with another 400 workers ready to receive their callback notice in the next two weeks.

Read more:
Terrace Bay Pulp closes in on funding from lender (The Chronicle Journal)

Terrace Bay Pulp is one step closer to reopening this summer.

Today the company announced that their Plan of Arrangement has been sanctioned by the Ontario Superior Court, clearing the way for the company to exit bankruptcy protection.

The decision by the court is subject to a three week appeal period which will expire on Aug. 17.

50 employees are expected to return to work next week.

The full work force of 300 employees are expected back on the job by August 16th.

Source:
Terrace Bay Pulp clears another hurdle (TbNewsWatch)

The mill workers in Terrace Bay, Ontario are a little more hopeful this week that the plans to reopen Terrace Bay Pulp may actually come to fruition.

Yesterday, Terrace Bay Pulp starting placing their orders for materials essential for operating the mill, including fuel-oil for the mill’s big boilers.

About 350 unionized workers who have already received recall notices should start being called in some time after Tuesday, when Thunder Bay Pulp officials make what should be a final appearance in Ontario’s Superior Court.

Wood-supply and loan issues have been largely resolved, setting the stage for the company to formally exit court-ordered protection from its creditors under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act.

The company has been under CCAA since March 2009.

Read more:
Orders supply hope to mill workers (The Chronicle Journal)