By Melissa Thomas

Prince Albert pulp mill has productive days to come: Senior VP

May 26, 2016 | 5:00 PM

The revitalization of the Prince Albert Pulp Mill now has a more realistic time line and could be open by 2020.

At a P.A. Chamber of Commerce luncheon Thursday, May 26, Paper Excellence Vice President of Operations David Kerr discussed plans for the now-closed pulp mill. As it stands, Kerr said the goal is to begin refurbishing the facility in 2018 and to open in 2020, but there are still concerns regarding the potential changes in the economy and industry. While 2018 is the intent, Kerr said if there are economical or business changes, the timeline could potentially change.

Weyerhaeuser used to own the mill until 2006 when the company decided to close the establishment. Two years later Domtar Corporation bought the mill, yet operations never resumed. Paper Excellence then acquired the mill in 2011 announcing their plans to re-establish and use it, with the intent on providing about 180 to 250 jobs to the Prince Albert area.

Kerr said that due to a non-compete clause that exists with Domtar, they are not authorized to begin producing Kraft pulp until 2020. Purchasing equipment, refurbishing, completing preliminary design work and procurement activities would begin in 2018.

The VP said if they were to start the Kraft mill now without an electrical solution, it would fail because they wouldn’t be able to make enough return.

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“The mill itself won’t start without an electrical solution or another generation solution that gets another revenue stream coming. So it is important for us to find the right model around what that is.” Kerr said when discussing the status.

Given the fact that the mill has changed hands three times in a decade, the question was raised as to what makes Paper Excellence’s plan different compared to their predecessors.

“The revenue stream from selling pulp, the revenue stream selling megawatts tabled together gives positive earnings for the mill. That’s the solution that the former owner didn’t have,” he said.

An audience member asked what would happen if plans fell through and how Paper Excellence would react in that situation. Kerr said that in the chance the plan doesn’t fit, the company would take care of those details by limiting losses to secure facility and reducing costs.

“We won’t walk away,” he said.

There is currently no specific date currently set for preliminary work on the mill.

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