Tag Archives: Thunder Bay

Resolute Forest Products has officially inaugurated a major power island producing green energy at its pulp and paper operation located in Thunder Bay, Ontario.

The power island includes a refurbished and upgraded woodwaste boiler and a new 65-megawatt condensing turbine. Approved by Resolute in early 2011, the C$65 million project took just over 21 months to complete.

“The power island is a strategic addition to Resolute’s Thunder Bay facility,” stated Richard Garneau, President and Chief Executive Officer. “It will reduce the mill’s energy costs as well as maximize our local woodlands, sawmill, pulp and paper, and energy operations by fully utilizing forest-based biomass to produce green electricity.”

The green power produced will be sold to the Ontario grid under a power purchase agreement between Resolute and the Ontario Power Authority.

To mark the inauguration, a ceremonial “throwing of the switch” was held earlier today involving key company and government representatives.

“This project is consistent with Resolute’s focus on optimizing our network to reduce costs as well as investing in projects that improve our competitive position and are aligned with a sustainable future,” added Garneau.

Source: Resolute Forest Products

Resolute Forest Products (formerly known as AbitibiBowater) closed its Gatineau, Quebec operation in August 2010, laying off 330 employees.

The mill will reopen in June as a lower cost operation with just 1 paper machine and a co-generation power plant. Only 130 workers will be employed.

The newsprint will be sold in North American and overseas.

In 2011, with the hope their mill could reopen, the workers of the Gatineau mill (and the Dolbeau mill) agreed to reopen their contracts and change some elements of the contract with regards to the sub-contracting of mechanics and workshop functions.

No severance was paid to the workers in 2010 when the mill closed because the company was restructuring and under creditor protection.

Outlook for Resolute Forest Products other mills

At this time, President and CEO Richard Garneau does not foresee the reopening of any other of its closed mills.

Resolute Forest Products’ Thunder Bay, Ontario mill is said to be at the greatest risk for mroe downtime because its access is only to the North American market. As newsprint demand continues to fall, the uncertainty of the Thunder Bay’s paper mill grows.

Read more:
Gatineau paper mill reopens (Ottawa Business Journal)

Resolute Forest Products is shutting down its newsprint mill in Thunder Bay, Ontario for 2 weeks.

110 workers will be affected by the downtime that starts on Wednesday.

The shut down is being blamed on market conditions and high costs.

Contracting Out

There is a growing concern at the Thunder Bay mill concerning the contracting out of union jobs.

Resolute Forest Products wants to contract out 42 jobs to control costs at the mill.  The CEP union has filed a grievance over the contracting out proposal and expects an arbitration hearing will be called.

The 42 positions are in newsprint shipping, kraft pulp shipping, garage maintenance, bark inventory and handling.

Read more:
Layoffs ahead at Resolute pulp mill (The Chronicle Journal)

Resolute Forest Products is appealing the assessed value of its pulp and paper mill in Thunder Bay, Ontario.

The mill is currently assessed for $72 million. Resolute wants a reduction of 60% in the value, retroactive to 2009.

This would result in a $7 million refund from the City of Thunder Bay for the previous years combined, and a loss of $1.8 million for each year in the future.

Thunder Bay’s mayor, Keith Hobbs, said if MPAC (the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation) reduces the mill’s value by 60%, Resolute Forest Products would pay less taxes than Thunder Bay’s shopping mall, the Intercity Mall. “Big business, industry, has to pay their share,” Hobbs said.

MPAC will hold a hearing on the reassessment in June.

Read more:
Resolute seeks tax cut (The Chronicle Journal)
Resolute asks Thunder Bay for ‘ridiculous’ tax break (CBC)

A committee has been formed in Thunder Bay, Ontario that is looking into cancer rates at the their pulp and paper mill.

Bob Hoffman, a spokesman for the CEP, said, “In general [the cancer rate is high] in Thunder Bay, but it seems to be higher at certain areas of the mill.”

The committee includes Resolute Forest Products, as current owner of the mill, and representatives from the 4 unions present at the mill.

Some of the areas of the mill that the committee are most concerned about are no longer operating and have been cleaned up.

A letter has been sent out to all past and present mill employees asking them to fill out a health questionnaire.  The data from the survey is being collected by the Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers so the personal information and health details are kept private.

Read more:
Unions concerned about cancer at Thunder Bay mill (CBC)

Resolute Forest Products has announced the construction of a new sawmill in the area of Atikokan, Ontario. This investment reflects Resolute’s ongoing commitment to the solid wood business and will provide significant economic opportunities for First Nations in the region.

The Atikokan project will involve the construction of a single line random length (16 ft) sawmill with an annual capacity of 150 million board feet. Approximately 90 people will be directly employed by the operation, and additional indirect positions will be created for hauling finished lumber and residual chips. Final site selection in the Atikokan area will be completed in the next few weeks, and construction is anticipated to begin in the spring, with completion targeted for early 2014. The capital cost of the project is estimated at C$50 million.

“We believe in our solid wood business and we’re taking action to grow and improve it. The new random length sawmill will complement our existing lumber product mix in Ontario and will allow Resolute to improve its product offering to customers in central Canada and key markets in the United States,” stated Richard Garneau, President and Chief Executive Officer. “We are particularly excited about the active involvement of First Nations in the project and the opportunity for shared economic benefit that this represents.”

When the Atikokan project is complete and the company’s upgraded Ignace facility re-opens, Resolute will have three modern sawmills in Northwestern Ontario, with a combined production capacity approaching approximately 600 million board feet. In addition to producing lumber, the sawmills will also contribute to the long-term competitiveness of the company’s pulp and paper operations in Thunder Bay through the supply of residual chips, as well as support efforts to reposition the currently indefinitely idled pulp mill in Fort Frances.

Today’s announcement was welcomed by Ontario Natural Resources Minister Michael Gravelle. “This is extremely good news for the economy in Northwestern Ontario, and specifically the Atikokan area. I am particularly pleased to see Resolute’s proactive effort to involve First Nations in a manner that creates opportunities and shared benefit. Our Ministry has worked hard with First Nations and municipalities to increase opportunities for direct involvement in the rebounding forestry sector, and today’s announcement is a real indicator of the progress we have made,” said Minister Gravelle. “We welcome the additional investment by Resolute in Ontario. Over the past 18 months, the company has announced over C$175 million of investments in the province, and I am certainly encouraged that a new sawmill in Atikokan could potentially make a positive contribution as Resolute continues to look at viable options for its Fort Frances pulp mill.”

In commenting on today’s announcement, Gary Allen, Chief of Nigigoonsiminikaaning First Nation, stated: “We are encouraged by Resolute’s investment plans in our traditional area and look forward to working with the company to achieve our economic goals and establish business opportunities associated with this project.”

Seine River First Nation Chief Earl Klyne agreed, stating: “We are pleased to see this announcement being made today by Resolute. It was most positive that the company involved First Nation communities in the early stages of this project to identify areas of economic opportunity that we can pursue together.”

Bill Mauro, MPP of Thunder Bay-Atikokan, also joined other public officials in welcoming this announcement: “As the MPP for Thunder Bay-Atikokan, I want to thank Resolute for this positive announcement. This capital investment will create a good number of construction jobs and significant long-term employment in the Atikokan area. This investment is also another important signal that the forestry sector continues to improve, and that Resolute will be a major employer in our region for years to come.”

Thunder Bay-Rainy River MP John Rafferty expressed his gratitude towards this investment: “This is certainly good news for forestry workers and communities in the Northwest, particularly Atikokan. We should all be pleased with Resolute’s commitment to sustainable forestry practices and their belief in strong communities and family-sustaining jobs.”

“This is great news for our community and the surrounding area. These jobs will be critically important in providing economic stability for our region,” added Atikokan Mayor Dennis Brown.

Source: Resolute Forest Products

TBNewsWatch is reporting that Doug Murray is no longer the Manager at Resolute Forest Products‘ in Thunder Bay, and their sources say he is no longer with the company.

Management changes are also being reported at Resolute’s Thunder Bay sawmill and in their forestry operations, although the company won’t comment publicly on the changes.

Gary Bragnalo, President of CEP Local 39, told TbNewsWatch that Murray was always very approachable on issues involving the mill, even when the operation went through tough times over the past few years.  The mill is currently in the final stages of installing a new condensing turbine to lower energy costs, a project Murray had been lobbying for since 2009.

Read more:
Doug Murray no longer head of Resolute mill (TbNewsWatch)

Resolute Forest Products plans to build an industrial wood pellet plant that will convert a currently underutilized residual material into a reliable source of renewable energy.

Construction of the plant is expected to begin shortly and is scheduled for completion in 2014.

The company has signed a 10 year agreement to supply Ontario Power Generation with 45,000 metric tons of pellets annually for the Atikokan Generating Station.

The plant will be built adjacent to the company’s sawmill in Thunder Bay, Ontario, creating approximately 24 new jobs when fully operational and improving the long-term viability of the sawmill and the approximately 350 jobs that it supports.

“Wood pellets are a clean, renewable energy source, and together with other biofuel opportunities, a natural diversification target for Resolute,” said Richard Garneau, President and Chief Executive Officer. “This project provides the opportunity to enhance the use of our existing asset base to produce biofuel for a strategic, committed consumer and allows the Company to gain valuable manufacturing experience in commercial biomass production.”

Resolute will invest approximately $10 million in the construction of the plant, adding to the investments of approximately $120 million the company has announced for its Ontario operations since 2011.

Sources: Resolute Forest Products & Ontario Power Generation

Visit Resolute Forest Product’s website at http://resolutefp.com

Resolute Forest Products is planning to add a third shift to its sawmill on the Fort William First Nation outside of Thunder Bay, Ontario.

A hiring fair was held today by the company in Thunder Bay.  Dozens of job seekers attended to submit their resume.

Resolute Forest Products said with the lumber market turning around, and more employees retiring from pulp and paper mills, the demand for jobs in the forest sector will continue to grow.

Read more:
Job seekers may get lucky with sawmill work  Recent hiring fair shows more jobs opening up in the forestry sector (CBC)
Resolute Forest Product’s current career opportunities

CBC News talked to some of the workers of the bankrupt Global Sticks plant near Thunder Bay, Ontario.

The workers recently met with Global Sticks receiver, Grant Thornton, and learned that Global Sticks  has a “deficiency” of more than $14 million.

Many of the workers are owed thousands of dollars and felt pressured at the meeting to sign papers they had not read.

“There was a lot of maybes, and like, ‘this might happen,’ and a lot of telling us to fill out that form,” said Shamara Fields, a worker who attended the meeting.

“And he’s like, ‘if you want to read it that’s OK, but if you take it home that’s going to take longer.’ So that made me feel weird … like I wasn’t allowed to read it.”

No workers will be reimbursed more than $3,200, regardless of how much they are owed.  Fields said she was owed more than $5,600.

It will be 6-8 weeks before the workers will get paid.

Read CBC’s article:
Global Sticks workers anxious to get paid – Bankrupt wood product manufacturer tells employees they will get paid in next six to eight weeks