Displaying items by tag: domtar

Monday, 10 November 2014 21:19

Domtar wins 2014 two AF&PA Sustainability Awards

dom logoDomtar Corporation (NYSE: UFS) (TSX: UFS) was recognized by the American Forest & Paper Association as a leader in sustainability with two 2014 AF&PA Sustainability Awards. This is the second consecutive year Domtar has been honored for its sustainability advancements.

Domtar received the Innovation in Sustainability Award for their BioChoiceTM Lignin and the Leadership in Sustainability Award for Energy Efficiency and Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Reductions for their Barge Unloading and Conveyor Project. Designed to recognize exemplary sustainability programs and initiatives in the paper and wood products manufacturing industry, the annual sustainability awards are given based on the merit of entries received across multiple categories.

Domtar leveraged its Plymouth, N.C. mill's existing infrastructure to start a lignin separation plant - the first of its kind in North America in over 25 years. Lignin is the natural glue that holds wood fibers together. While it is most commonly used as a carbon-neutral source of fuel, modern technology allows it to be made into a wide range of sustainable products, including coating, natural binders, plastics and resins.

Domtar's one-mile-long conveyor belt from the banks of the Ohio River straight into their Hawesville, Ky. Mill enabled them to directly deliver wood chips to the mill, eliminating 54,000 wood chip delivery truck trips and drastically reducing truck traffic and related congestion and pollution.

"We are honored to be recognized by AF&PA, underscoring Domtar's commitment to its core values of innovation and caring, optimizing our processes and with this year's Innovation in Sustainability Award and Leadership in Sustainability Award for Energy Efficiency and Greenhouse Gas Reductions. Innovation is one of Domtar's core values, and in this case it has helped make our company more efficient," said Domtar President and CEO John Williams.    

About Domtar 
Domtar Corporation (NYSE: UFS) (TSX: UFS) designs, manufactures, markets and distributes a wide variety of fiber-based products including communication papers, specialty and packaging papers and absorbent hygiene products. The foundation of its business is a network of world class wood fiber converting assets that produce papergrade, fluff and specialty pulps. The majority of its pulp production is consumed internally to manufacture paper and consumer products. Domtar is the largest integrated marketer of uncoated freesheet paper in North America with recognized brands such as Cougar®, Lynx® Opaque Ultra, Husky ® Opaque Offset, First Choice® and Domtar EarthChoice® . Domtar is also a leading marketer and producer of a broad line of absorbent hygiene products marketed primarily under the Attends® , IncoPack and Indasec® brand names. In 2013, Domtar had sales of $5.4 billion from some 50 countries. The Company employs approximately 10,000 people. To learn more, visit www.domtar.com.

SOURCE Domtar Corporation

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Changes Include New Packaging Look, Product Line Reorganization and Product Enhancements

2014-10-30 072501 dom xerDomtar Corporation (NYSE: UFS) (TSX: UFS) is pleased to announce a whole new packaging look, a realignment of the product line, as well as a series of product enhancements to its Xerox® Paper and Specialty Media Line.

In June 2013, Domtar Corporation completed the acquisition of the Xerox® Paper and Specialty Media Line for the U.S. and Canada. With its strong foundation in serving businesses and corporations, the Xerox® Paper and Specialty Media Line was already a well-known brand within the marketplace, and the Domtar leadership team wanted to continue to build on that success.

"Although we wanted to continue to leverage the great foundational work that Xerox had established within the paper category, we also wanted to grow the paper business, and expanding beyond large and corporate customers was a key driver for us," said John D. Williams, President and Chief Executive Officer.  "Our goal was to maintain the existing customer base, while still broadening the brand's appeal across new consumer targets, as well as increasing the presence of the Xerox® Paper and Specialty Media Line within new channels of business." Williams added.

The Xerox® Paper and Specialty Media Line has been reorganized into three product families, VitalityTM, BoldTM, and RevolutionTM to help customers make better paper choices based on their usage and project needs.

  • VitalityTM includes versatile office papers that are great for a wide variety of uses and always provide great looking results.
  • BoldTM is a line of professional office papers and digital printing papers designed to give users the highest quality results, so that their work always looks a step above the rest.
  • RevolutionTM is a line of specialized paper, films and materials that allow customers to create professional looking marketing and business building tools.

New packaging was created not only to reflect these changes, but also to refresh and modernize the look to align with Xerox's strong positioning within the marketplace.

"We worked hard to create a package that's not only attractive, but also one that reflects the professional nature of the brand and gives customers just enough information to make informed choices about their paper purchases." said Katie Zorn, Marketing Director for Domtar Business Papers.

Additionally, many of the product features have been enhanced to meet market demands. One result is by optimizing the office papers to perform in a wide variety of print devices, Domtar has eliminated the need to choose paper by print device.

Domtar, also known for its leadership in sustainability practices and strong commitment to domestic production, made the decision to add the rigorous Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) certification to nearly all of its office papers and digital printing paper products. Many of the certified products will bear the well-known World Wildlife Fund panda logo, and the entire office papers line will be produced in either the United States or Canada.

FSC® C001844

About Domtar
Domtar Corporation (NYSE: UFS) (TSX: UFS) designs, manufactures, markets and distributes a wide variety of fiber-based products including communication papers, specialty and packaging papers and absorbent hygiene products. The foundation of its business is a network of world class wood fiber converting assets that produce papergrade, fluff and specialty pulps. The majority of its pulp production is consumed internally to manufacture paper and consumer products. Domtar is the largest integrated marketer of uncoated freesheet paper in North America with recognized brands such as Cougar®, Lynx® Opaque Ultra, Husky® Opaque Offset, First Choice® and Domtar EarthChoice®. Domtar is also a leading marketer and producer of a broad line of incontinence care products marketed primarily under the Attends®, IncoPack and Indasec® brand names as well as baby diapers. In 2013, Domtar had sales of US$5.4 billion from some 50 countries. The Company employs approximately 10,000 people. To learn more, visit www.domtar.com.

SOURCE Domtar Corporation

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First-Ever FSC®Leadership Award Celebrates Company as a Leader Driving Progress in the Marketplace

dom logoDomtar Corporation was recognized for its longtime leadership in sustainability, as the company accepted the first-ever annual FSC® Leadership Award for the paper sector in a ceremony at the Greenbuild 2014 Conference in New Orleans. The award celebrates Domtar's innovative pursuit of FSC certification in North America, and highlights its commitment to maintaining forests for future generations.

At a time when many organizations are building strategies around environmental and social responsibility, the Forest Stewardship Council lauded Domtar as a standout leader and trailblazer in the forest products industry. In 2000, Domtar was the first forest products company in North America to achieve FSC certification of its lands, and in 2005, it launched the first FSC certified line of general use copy paper, called the EarthChoice® Product Line.

"Like salmon swimming upstream, the award winners have worked tirelessly to protect forests and create change in the marketplace," said Corey Brinkema, president of the Forest Stewardship Council US. "They are used to being told 'it can't be done' so they know that true leadership requires resolve and determination, usually in the face of strong currents protecting the status quo," he added.

Domtar's early adoption of FSC certification, history of industry-leading collaboration with Environmental Non-Governmental Organizations (ENGOs) and bold commitments to increasing the supply of certified fiber helped earn the company the honor. 

"Domtar is honored to receive the first annual FSC Leadership Award for the paper sector, demonstrating what it takes to be a leader in responsible forest practices," said Paige Goff, vice president, Sustainability & Business Communications at Domtar.  "We're proud to be recognized as an organization that has made a significant contribution to the longevity and health of the world's forests, and will continue to raise the bar for the pulp and paper industry for years to come."

The FSC Leadership Awards were presented at the 10th Annual Design & Build with FSC Awards, co-hosted with the World Wildlife Fund and Green Sports Alliance.

To learn more about FSC and the role it plays in Domtar's commitment to full circle responsibility, please visit www.domtar.com/earthchoice.                      

About Domtar 

Domtar Corporation (NYSE: UFS) (TSX: UFS) designs, manufactures, markets and distributes a wide variety of fiber-based products including communication papers, specialty and packaging papers and absorbent hygiene products. The foundation of its business is a network of world class wood fiber converting assets that produce papergrade, fluff and specialty pulps. The majority of its pulp production is consumed internally to manufacture paper and consumer products. Domtar is the largest integrated marketer of uncoated freesheet paper in North America with recognized brands such as Cougar®, Lynx® Opaque Ultra, Husky® Opaque Offset, First Choice® and Domtar EarthChoice®. Domtar is also a leading marketer and producer of a broad line of absorbent hygiene products marketed primarily under the Attends®, IncoPack and Indasec® brand names. In 2013, Domtar had sales of $5.4 billion from some 50 countries. The Company employs approximately 10,000 people. To learn more, visit www.domtar.com.

About the Forest Stewardship Council

The Forest Stewardship Council is an independent nonprofit organization that promotes environmentally sound, socially beneficial, and economically prosperous management of the world's forests. FSC was created in 1993 to help consumers and businesses identify products from well-managed forests. FSC sets standards by which forests are certified, offering credible verification to people who are buying wood and wood products. 4,000 companies and 175 million acres of forestland are certified under FSC standards in the United States and Canada. For more information visit www.fsc.org.

SOURCE Domtar Corporation

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signature valmetValmet will supply equipment and technical services required to upgrade an evaporator train at the Domtar Pulp & Paper Mill located in Ashdown, Arkansas. The key objectives of the upgrade are to significantly reduce energy consumption and fresh water usage in the mill as well as to improve reliability and performance of the evaporator train.

The upgraded evaporator train is scheduled to start operation in the fourth quarter of 2015. This order is included in Valmet's 3rd quarter orders received. The value of the order is not disclosed.

"Domtar selected Valmet for this project because of the technology proposed for the upgrade, total cost of ownership considerations and the successful long-term relationship we have with Valmet," says Jimmy Evans, Strategic Contracts Manager for Domtar.

"We worked closely with Domtar to optimize the technical solution that would meet their project objectives, including providing a system that would be simpler and safer to operate," says Raymond Burelle, Regional Sales Manager for Valmet.

Technical information about the delivery

The scope of the Valmet's delivery includes the supply of new evaporator vessels, the component needed to upgrade the existing concentrators as well as several other smaller vessels and other miscellaneous equipment.

Information about Domtar

Domtar Corporation designs, manufactures, markets, and distributes a wide variety of fiber-based products including communication papers, specialty and packaging papers, and absorbent hygiene products. In 2013, Domtar had sales of US$5.4 billion from some 50 countries. The Company employs approximately 10,000 people.

Domtar's Ashdown mill has 3 pulp lines and 3 paper machines. The mill's annual paper production capacity is 680,000 tons and pulp production capacity 700,000 tons.

For further information, please contact:

Dave King, Area President for Power business, North America, Valmet, tel. +1 704 414 3420

Valmet Corporation is a leading global developer and supplier of services and technologies for the pulp, paper and energy industries. Our 11,000 professionals around the world work close to our customers and are committed to moving our customers' performance forward - every day.

Valmet's services cover everything from maintenance outsourcing to mill and plant improvements and spare parts. Our strong technology offering includes entire pulp mills, tissue, board and paper production lines, as well as power plants for bio-energy production.

The company has over 200 years of industrial history and was reborn through the demerger of the pulp, paper and power businesses from Metso Group in December 2013. Valmet's net sales in 2013 were approximately EUR 2.6 billion. Valmet's objective is to become the global champion in serving its customers.

Valmet's head office is in Espoo, Finland and its shares are listed on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki Ltd.

Read more www.valmet.com , www.twitter.com/valmetglobal

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Widest range of FSC® certified, sustainable North American papers on the market

Domtar Corporation has announced that it has sold its five millionth ton of Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) certified uncoated fine paper, a first for the North American market. Domtar's EarthChoice® Product Line represents the widest range of FSC certified papers available today, and the milestone solidifies the company's position as a longstanding industry leader in responsible fiber sourcing and sustainable practices.

2014-09-12 092926 domtar mags

"EarthChoice Products by Domtar (CNW Group/Domtar Corporation)"

Domtar revolutionized the industry when it became the first company in North America to offer FSC certified copy paper in 2005. By breaking from the norm and embracing sustainable goals, Domtar helped create a new model of collaboration - one that has led to long-standing partnerships with some of the world's leading environmental organizations, including the Rainforest Alliance and World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

"We are thrilled to have continued our work with Domtar as it delivers on its commitment to bring sustainability into the mainstream via its EarthChoice product line," said Tensie Whelan, President of Rainforest Alliance. "The Rainforest Alliance CertifiedTM seal and the FSC logo featured on EarthChoice products assure consumers they are supporting healthy forests - crucial for clean air and water, carbon sequestration and wildlife habitat. With over five million tons of EarthChoice product sold, this is a prime example of sustainability making good business sense."

Linda Walker, Director, Global Forest & Trade Network-North America, World Wildlife Fund, added, "We are losing forests at a rate of eight football fields every 10 seconds. One of the best things that can be done to address this dramatic statistic is to put FSC products on the shelves.  Domtar is a leader in this. The more FSC-labeled products consumers see, the more we can ensure forests will thrive for generations to come."

Today, the EarthChoice family of products includes FSC certified paper for business, publishing, converting, printing and specialty uses, and accounts for more than 20 percent of Domtar's total paper sales.

"I am proud to say that some of the most recognized companies in the world have put their own commitment to responsible environmental practices on paper by choosing Domtar's FSC certified EarthChoice products," said John D. Williams, President and Chief Executive Officer. "I would like to thank our nearly 10,000 employees, our loyal customers and our supplier partners for helping us sell five million tons of Forest Stewardship Council certified paper, an impressive milestone that once again demonstrates Domtar's sustainability leadership within industry."

"The support Domtar is demonstrating for FSC certification is generating concrete social and environmental benefits for the world's forests and the people who depend on them. The sale of five million tons of FSC certified paper is another landmark in Domtar's commitment to sustainability. Congratulations to Domtar for its continued leadership and its commitment to healthy and sustainable forests," said Kim Carstensen, Director General of FSC International.

To learn more about the role of responsible fiber sourcing within the EarthChoice commitment to sustainable business, please visit www.domtar.com/earthchoice

SOURCE Domtar Corporation

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dom logoDomtar Corporation (NYSE: UFS) (TSX: UFS) is honored to have had 11 facilities recognized for safety performance excellence at the Pulp and Paper Safety Association's (PPSA) annual awards ceremony. The prizes were handed out during the PPSA's annual conference held this year in St. Petersburg, Florida, from June 22-25.

"An employee-driven safety culture is a key plank of Domtar's sustainable business strategy, and one of the important ways we live out our company values of agility, caring and innovation," noted Allan Bohn, Senior Director of Corporate Health and Safety. "So I want to congratulate our Pulp and Paper leadership, the individual site leaders and safety representatives, and especially the site employees for all their hard work and dedication that led to these PPSA honors."

The following Domtar facilities received PPSA awards:

No OSHA Recordables

  • Addison, IL
  • Dallas-Fort Worth, TX
  • Dubois, PA
  • Owensboro, KY
  • Rock Hill, SC
  • Washington Courthouse, OH
  • Marlboro, SC

Best Record: Fine Paper Converting Plants

  • Dubois, PA

Best Record: Fine Paper Mills - Large

  • Ashdown Mill, Ashdown, AR

Best Record: Paper Mills - Small

  • Marlboro Mill, Bennettsville, SC

Most Improved: Paper Mills - Small

  • Johnsonburg Mill, Johnsonburg, PA
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Domtar is proud to be the Montreal Chamber Orchestra's Season Partner for the 2012-2013 Discovery Concert Series. We invite classical music lovers of all ages to join us.

Also on the program: Symphony no. 1 in C Majour, op 21 by L. van Beethoven, Couleurs by Louis Babin, Petite Suite by Claude Debussy and Symphony no.1 in E-flat Major, KV 16 by W. A. Mozart.

For further information or to schedule interviews with the concert conductor and/or soloist, interested individuals and media can contact Mona Awad, MCO Executive Director, at 514-871-1224 or at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. About the soloist Georde Gao is considered as one of the most exciting, innovative and respected erhu masters today. His performance on April 16 marks his first appearance with the Montreal Chamber Orchestra.

About the conductor Born in Montreal, Wanda Kaluzny started her musical studies with lessons in piano and organ. She began her conducting career at the age of 11 when she assumed the position of organist and choir director at the Holy Cross Parish in Montreal, a position she held for eight years. A year later at the age of twenty, she founded the Montreal Chamber Orchestra making her at the time, the youngest and only woman conductor of a professional Orchestra. Kaluzny's conducting studies include working with Stefan Stuligrosz in Poland and with Charles Bruck at the Pierre Monteux Memorial Foundation in the United States. She toured in Europe as Maestro Bruck's assistant and also guest conducted in North America and Europe. In April 1990, she was the first woman to guest conduct the Baden-Baden Symphony in Germany.

About the Montreal Chamber Orchestra The Montreal Chamber Orchestra was founded in 1974 by its Artistic Director and Conductor, Wanda Kaluzny. Under her leadership the MCO has earned a reputation for excellence and has achieved international recognition: Korean tour including a television broadcast (1990-91); tour of Southeastern U.S.A. (Nov 1990); tour in California invited by Columbia Artist Management (Mar 1992). The MCO was also honored to be the first Canadian Orchestra featured in two PBS programs produced by Vermont Public Television, which included the memorial concert entitled "Requiem for September 11". The Montreal Chamber Orchestra can be heard on the compact discs Suites for Strings and Cinématique.

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More than 400 people have helped build the $250 million biomass power plant that now towers over Business Highway 51 and the Wisconsin River, and their months of hard work have the project on schedule to begin generating power late this year.

domtar biomass

When the facility opens, a parade of 50 to 75 semitrucks every weekday will keep the plant’s boilers stoked with treetops and branches that will create steam and electricity. In addition to producing clean energy, the new site will improve air quality by reducing overall emissions from the Domtar paper mill by about 30 percent, according to a Domtar and We Energies informational handout.

That parade of trucks loaded down with 300,000 to 500,000 tons of wood debris referred to as biomass will come from forests within a 75-mile radius and will employ dozens more people, including Jeff Plunkett, fiber procurement manager for Domtar.

Plunkett is in charge of buying wood materials for the paper mill and new biomass facility. He said he has a growing list of local contractors lined up to provide the wood waste, though he declined to name any.

“This gives an opportunity for the forest products industry for an additional outlet for their material,” Plunkett said. “It will open up potential new markets for people who want to get into the wood waste business  and market it instead of burning or putting it in a landfill.”

In November 2008, the company began talks with We Energies to develop an alternative energy source, and the partnership was announced in September 2009 for a new biomass plant to be built at the Domtar Rothschild site. Since its introduction, the project has divided village residents and faced opposition because of its hefty price tag. Construction began in August 2011.

Rick Graap, owner of Graap Logging in Merrill, has supported the biomass facility since it was first proposed. He hopes to have a contract later this year as one of the biomass material providers for the new facility, and already has about 25,000 tons of tree tops and branches stored in north central Wisconsin.

Graap said he plans to hire about two to three new employees to drive trucks, should he contract with Domtar and We Engergies. He will also hire two other employees to operate in the woods.

“I’m excited not only for myself but also for the raw forest products industry in the state,” he said. “When you diversify markets, it strengthens the industry in any business. Not to mention all of the other related tire and parts companies that will benefit from this amazing addition to central Wisconsin.”

Once the facility is in full operation, the plant will employ about 30 full-time workers. About 60 percent of the steam will drive a turbine to create electricity for We Energies, a Milwaukee-based energy company. The remaining steam will be used inside Domtar’s Rothschild mill, which employs 400 people.

While Domtar will continue to buy electricity from Wisconsin Public Service Corp., the new 50-megawatt biomass facility will supply 100 percent of the mill’s steam, used to create the high-pressure, high-temperature environment necessary to convert wood chips to pulp and to dry paper after it is made, said Craig Timm, a Domtar spokesman.

Before the plant opens late this year, many parts need to be prepped and tested, including the biomass boiler, the fuel-handling system and steam blows. Testing the biomass boiler ensures boiler pipes are welded properly and can withstand required pressure. The steam blows push steam through pipes to clear dirt and debris that accumulate during construction, and the fuel-handling system includes conveyor systems and the truck unloader.

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Wednesday, 03 April 2013 17:30

Where Power Meets Paper

Nestled along the Wisconsin River within the town of Rothschild, Wis., sits Domtar’s paper mill. Built over 100 years ago it serves as one of the region’s largest employers. Considered an area landmark, its presence now is perhaps more marked than ever, with the gradual but seemingly overnight construction of a 50-MW biomass cogeneration plant.

Reaching a skyscraping 265 feet at its highest point, the facility is a new addition to the landscape that residents across the river have been able to watch grow over the past couple of years, a result of years of partnership, permitting and meticulous planning. The bustling construction site—active even through the harsh winter months—is described by Craig Timm, manager of Domtar’s public affairs, as “its own little city.” Having reached peak construction last fall, with around 500 workers on site any given time, the plant is now in the final stretch of construction.

Reflecting on the four-year development process, Domtar and We Energies are enthused—and proud—to share their experiences in working together toward a common goal, but at the same time having completely different backgrounds and objectives.

Project Pieces

dom pic1Terry Carroll, asset manager for We Energies, says that the idea for the project emerged when the utility was exploring ways to meet the state renewable portfolio standard, which requires 10 percent of electric sales from renewables by 2015. “We had one major wind project at the time and were looking at others, but realized that we needed some diversity, so we started looking at biomass,” Carroll says. “Where would it make the most sense, and who would make a good partner? In terms of procuring biomass, papermaking or lumber product companies are already doing that.” 

After We Energies contacted the Pulp and Paper Products Council to gauge potential for a partnership and explain what the company was hoping to do, Domtar responded to the request. From that point on, the two businesses became dedicated partners and began the project, groundbreaking of which occurred in June 2011.

As Domtar already possessed expertise in feedstock procurement, one of the typical key project puzzle pieces was already in place. “We already do business [in sourcing wood fuel], had a small biomass boiler, and a pulping operation that utilizes logs,” says Jim Freiberg, Domtar project manager. “It made sense for us to partner as the fuel procurement agent, and in terms of our financial interests, this would give us the opportunity to manufacture our product at lower costs, utilizing steam from the plant.”

At the time, Domtar was utilizing three aging pieces of steam generating equipment that were destined for replacement in the near future, according to Freiberg, so the opportunity arose in perfect timing for the papermaker.

The power facility will use around 500,000 tons per year of woody biomass material, according to Carroll, which will come ready-to-burn from Domtar’s fuel yard, or will be shredded or chipped off site by suppliers. All fuel will arrive in trucks—about 75 loads per day—and be delivered to one of three receiving stations, where trucks will back into a covered truck tipper and be tilted to release fuel onto the conveyor system. Air in the unloading station is drawn under a vacuum to filter, minimize and suppress airborne dust, and then vented through a 110-foot chimney attached to the truck-unloading baghouse filter.  “We have a number of neighbors close by, residences across the street, so all of our biomass handling system is enclosed to keep noise and dust at a minimum,” says Carroll.

Enclosed conveyors transport the fuel to the storage building, also completely enclosed, where about five to seven days’ worth of fuel is stored, according to Carroll. There, an automatic loading system will scalp fuel off the pile, pull it up to another conveyor, and send it into the boiler building. “There we have a modest amount of storage, an hour or less, before it’s fired into the boiler,” he says.

The Metso circulating fluidized bed (CFB) boiler is housed in a 190-foot boiler building, replacing three old boilers—one biomass-fired, and two old gas boilers, and is accompanied by a natural gas auxiliary boiler. “Since the [biomass] boiler undergoes periodic outages a couple of times per year, Domtar needs a backup supply of steam,” Carroll explains. The CFB boiler, coupled with a state-of-the-art emissions control system, will reduce Domtar’s previous emissions by roughly 30 percent. Designed with the U.S. EPA’s Boiler MACT rules in mind, the project’s timing was ideal for planned compliance.

The two-section cooling tower was deployed to eliminate discharge of heated water into the Wisconsin River, and the one selected for the project possesses a plume abatement technology that minimizes water vapor, which is often mistaken for air pollution. At above freezing temperatures, the plume normally will not be visible—if it is, only as a fine mist and will usually dissipate within 30 feet of the top of the tower.

Right now, all major components of the project are in place, so it’s just a matter of connecting and testing them. According to Boldt Construction Project Manager Myron Wagner, getting some of the massive equipment pieces in place required a lot more planning than one might suspect.

Construction Perspective

For jobs requiring movement of extremely heavy equipment, which Wagner says are referred to as “large or major picks,” Boldt uses precision lifting, a complex engineering method used to map out a lift from beginning to end. “The major picks are all engineered, meaning we bring an engineer out with special software, enter in heights and angles and everything is predetermined, right down to the size of chokers and shackles we have to have,” Wagner explains. “One of these picks could be as many as 50 pages of engineering.”

There isn’t room for error with these kinds of lifts, Wagner adds, as some of this equipment is 50 or 100 tons. “You have to get it right the first time; you don’t get a second chance. And on this particular job, we had a couple of interesting picks. For instance, for the steam drum, we had to use two 350-ton cranes at one time.”

Wagner says this specific project has been unique in that it’s essentially been many smaller projects put together. “At any time, we’re working in probably seven or eight different major areas.  At the same time, that’s been a little challenging, because we’ve been building a powerhouse on a paper mill site, which are [paper mill sites] generally very tight areas, and this one is no exception.”

Domtar has to ship its product out, typically having 50 to 80 trucks coming in and out each day, and that has to happen without disturbances. “That’s been tough for us,” Wagner admits. “When we start working in a new area, we have to find a new spot for them to park 50 or 80 trailers. So far though, we’ve managed to do that, and we’re proud we haven’t disrupted their business.”

On where the project is currently, hydro testing of the boiler was recently completed, one of the project milestones. “We put water in it and pressurized it to 1.5 times its operating pressure, which in this case was 2,800 psi, and we held that for a length of time to prove there were no leaks, and that was successful,” says Wagner. “The next milestone will be to complete the gas pass—the flu gas that moves through the stacks goes through a number of gyrations to get there—so we can fire this thing up, put fuel through it. Hopefully that’ll happen in early June.”

 Initially the plant will be fueled on gas until any kinks are worked out, then biomass will be added. Wagner estimates the entire testing period could last up to two and a half months.

On what the big priority has been as general contractor of the project, Wagner says safety has been No. 1, followed closely by schedule and budget. “We always want everyone here to go home the same way they came,” he adds.

And being a good neighbor has also been important, an aspect that Freiberg and Carroll also highlight.

Good Neighbor

About 90 percent of the labor on site has been hired locally by Boldt, which is based in Appleton, Wis., either within the county or the state. “That’s always a goal of ours, but this local community has been exceptional,” Wagner says. “We have been very fortunate having our craft laborers being very knowledgeable about what they’re doing. “

He adds that We Energies spared no expense to cut down on sound or dust, making sure neither reaches nearby residents or businesses, and that Boldt also tries to source as many building materials locally as possible.

And, of course, on top of job creation, in a town of just under 5,300 people, a big construction project means money in the pockets of local goods and services business owners.

In turn, the good neighbor attitude has been returned by the community. “Members [of the community] have been great,” Timm adds. They, and elected officials on all levels, labor unions, chambers of commerce…they’ve been right along with us during this whole process.”

source: biomassmagazine.com

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Domtar Corporation, one of the largest manufacturers and distributors of paper in North America, has signed, through its operating subsidiaries, an agreement to acquire Xerox's paper and print media products business in the United States and Canada.

"The Xerox brand is well regarded in the paper markets it serves," said John D. Williams, Domtar's President and Chief Executive Officer. "This deal brings together Xerox's branded papers with Domtar's already comprehensive paper offering and will allow us to better serve our customers."

While Xerox does not manufacture paper, the company has long distributed through its brand name a broad range of coated and uncoated papers and specialty print media including business forms as well as carbonless and wide-format paper. This business will now become part of Domtar's pulp and paper segment, and Domtar will market and distribute Xerox-branded paper and print media.

"As Xerox broadens its business to focus more on services and innovative document technology, we saw an opportunity for our paper business clients to be better served by a leader in the industry," said Frank Edmonds, senior vice president, Xerox Global Paper and Supplies Distribution Group. "It's an across-the-board win.  Xerox benefits through a trademark licensing agreement with Domtar; Domtar adds a well-regarded brand to its portfolio; and our respective clients get a simplified, 'one-stop' experience through Domtar's extensive offerings and distribution network."

Xerox will continue to manufacture, sell and support its broad range of consumables, such as toner and ink, and Xerox Replacement Cartridges.

The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2013, subject to customary closing conditions. Until the close, Xerox customers may continue to order paper and media through Xerox Supplies sales representatives, Xerox inside sales centers, or online at www.xerox.com.

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