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(One Sky Forest Products)
OSB

Company behind new OSB plant looks forward to 2023

Dec 31, 2022 | 12:00 PM

The coming year is bound to be a big one for one company looking to plant roots in the community of Prince Albert.

In late 2021, the provincial government announced an OSB plant to be built near the city, which will provide hundreds of jobs and a boost to the forestry sector.

One Sky Forest Products is hoping to have shovels in the ground sometime in 2023.

“We were able to complete a significant amount of work with our partner Indigenous groups and partner First Nations as it relates to fibre supply,” said CEO Scott Bax. “Now, we are in a position to put shovels in the ground in 2023.”

READ MORE: One Sky holds public engagement session

This past year, One Sky was able to start the environmental impact assessment for the project and completed it before the year was done.

Current partners are Peak Renewables Ltd., local investors, and twelve First Nations represented by Montreal Lake Business Ventures, Meadow Lake Tribal Council together with Big River First Nation, and Wahpeton Dakota Developments. The company is also sourcing fibre through agreements with First Nations and other forestry businesses located in the Prince Albert region.

One Sky is also collaborating with Paper Excellence, the company hoping to restart the Prince Albert Pulp Mill in 2023.

“We continue to work closely with Paper Excellence on shared services and have good alignment on that,” said Bax, who added they are also working with the City of Prince Albert when it comes to infrastructure such as roads and railway.

Bax noted there are some challenges they’re anticipating in the coming months.

“Moving past the COVID epidemic and moving to a global reality with higher inflation and more uncertainty across markets,” he said. “That will be one of our challenges as we move forward.”

“We’re excited about the progress (and) excited about what 2023 has to offer and becoming a larger fixture in the Prince Albert community,” he said.

panews@pattisonmedia.com

Twitter: @princealbertnow

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