Displaying items by tag: St Marys Paper Corp

Sault Ste Marie, ON: Announced at a joint press conference by David Orazietti, MPP and St Marys Paper Corp. officials has provided a much needed shot-in-the-arm to the local economy and forest industries. Following Mr. Orazietti’s announcement of support in the form of an $8.8 million dollar loan, Dennis Bunnell, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, groundwood pulp and paper mill, expanded on the news and expressed his gratitude.

“This is important news for St. Marys, and for the local economy,” Mr. Bunnell said, “It is only with the assistance and support of our local MPP David Orazietti and Honourable Minister of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry Michael Gravelle, that St Marys Paper will be able to open its doors to begin production of supercalendered paper in early December. I urge members of the community and people who rely on the mill for their employment to recognize the personal commitment of these dedicated officials who worked tirelessly to assist us not only in our return to papermaking but to entering a new era of bio-economy here in Sault Ste Marie. Many Provincial government employees worked very hard to help us during this process. We are grateful to them for their dedicated service.

“Our market studies confirmed that St Marys Paper should continue producing supercalendered paper as its base product” Mr. Bunnell noted. “As a result of the Provincial support we can now implement our plans to transform the business by joining the expanding forest bio-economy business sector.”

Using its forest bio-fibre supply, access and experience as the base for transition, St Marys is planning long term bio-economy projects, including a 35 MW biomass co-generation plant and a wood pellet plant. The company also will engage in nano-technology product development partnerships and studies with the University of Toronto, and other bio-economy projects with private sector partners and the Sault Ste Marie Innovation Center.

“We are in the right place at the right time, with solid experience to boot,” said Mr. Bunnell.

The company will be calling back employees as soon as possible and will start up forestry operations to supply the mill immediately. Raw material supply and contracts will be finalized in November to have all necessary products and equipment in place. A meeting is being scheduled to share plans with all employees.

“The future of our mill is tied to the people in our local community and our industry. I want to personally thank our employees, contractors, suppliers and customers for being patient as we took the time to develop a conservative, workable business plan. We look forward to renewing our relationships with all of the people and businesses that are so critical to St Marys’ success.”

History of the mill
“Sharing our resources and strengthening our community” has been the motto of St Marys Paper, however, the 115-year-old Company was forced to curtail operations in March 2010 due to deteriorating market conditions. Rather than resorting to bankruptcy protection the decision was made to conserve funds to allow the Company time to develop a new business plan that would provide its employees and the communities it supports with long-term employment sustainability and security. Leadership planned the shut-down of the specialty paper manufacturer’s three paper machines to permit an efficient re-start. SMPC has traditionally marketed its product to magazine publishers and advertisers who produce inserts, flyers and catalogues. When full operations are possible, the company employs approximately 300 employees, and is directly and indirectly responsible for over 2,000 jobs in Sault Ste Marie and surrounding areas.

St Marys Paper Corp. has engaged Dennis Bunnell as Chairman of the Board and CEO to head up the plans to restart production at the St Marys Paper mill in Sault Ste Marie, Ontario.

St Marys Paper Corp. curtailed production of its groundwood pulp and paper mill on March 12, 2010. At that time the company indicated it would be managing the curtailment process in order that paper production could continue when market and business conditions warrant.

"St Marys has used this period of curtailment to conduct an independent up-dated marketing and sales study and to evaluate the operational and capital changes needed to ensure long term cost competitiveness. Our goal continues to be to transition the business from simply a paper production facility to a paper production, green energy and bio-economy business. Dennis's proven knowledge, experience and leadership gives us great confidence that he is a key step in achieving these medium and long term goals." said Gord Acton, President of St Marys.

"I am excited to join St Mary's team and believe that the biomass co-generation facility proposed to be built on St Marys property, when combined with capital improvements in the mill, will ensure the long term sustainability of the St Marys business model. We have already commenced discussions with stakeholders concerning our plan. These talks will continue with the goal of restarting the paper mill as early as possible this fall. Our discussions with major stakeholders have been positive and we anticipate completion of these discussions as soon as possible" said Dennis Bunnell.

"There are many items in our business plan which have to come together for the mill to re-open. I was happy to read about the implementation of an energy conservation program and I congratulate the foresight of Ontario Minister of Energy, Brad Duguid. This program will incent large electricity users like St Marys Paper Corp. to increase their usage at off-peak times. Not only does this have a positive impact on the environment, it will help make participating companies more competitive. This is a good program and is one of the critical pieces of our business plan," added Dennis Bunnell.

"St Marys Paper Corp. will be continuing to communicate and solicit support for the new business plan from all stakeholders over the coming weeks." concluded Mr. Bunnell, "This announcement certainly sets us on a positive track. There is more work to be done but we are off to a very positive start."