Mackenzie Pulp Mill Confirmed Shutdown

Tuesday, October 07, 2008 04:59 PM

Prince George, B.C. – CEP Union Local 1092 President, Carl Bernasky, says he has been given confirmation today that the Mackenzie Pulp Mill is going into a cold shutdown.

Bernasky says there is a definite lack of communication, “I phoned John Holmons, Chief / HR Manager of the steam plant (second in command) today and he confirmed the mill is going into a cold shut. No one is telling us anything. We were supposed to meet with Dan White from Worthington Properties, however he said he is too busy this week and it will have to be next week.”

As Opinion 250 reported on Saturday, 32 people from CEP Local 1092 were brought back to get things rolling as they were told to warm up the effluent system to help prepare for pulp in November. The owners then pushed that schedule 60 days further, however now it looks as if they will not be running at all.

Minister of Forest and Range, Pat Bell has also confirmed the cold shut but has not heard from the mill’s new owners.

Dan White of Worthington Properties purchased the mill stating he planned to operated it as a “going concern.” He indicated the delays in starting up the plant were the result of the economic challenges in the U.S. There has been no comment given as to why the plant is now being shut down.

As reported on the weekend Bernasky is concerned about the potential damage the mill could sustain during cold weather and advised workers to take job offers if they are given the opportunity.

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Posted on Tuesday, October 07, 2008 04:59 PM in News by 250 News

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Comments

Posted by: yep on October 7 2008 6:39 PM

would he be willing to meet with the town council?maybe a meeting of the minds might find a solution.

Posted by: szd on October 7 2008 8:03 PM

It has been confirmed from relable sources that the mill has been toured by scrap dealers. They were not allowed to identify themselves when touring the site. Also there are reports that the turbo generator has been sold to an Alberta company and is slated for removal. Standby for the coming news...pulp prices are in a free fall, chips are hard to find, mill will require too much $ for investment to bring it up to date. White has the money to buy the mill but not run it. The logical conclusion is that it will be sold for scrap and he will walk away with millions.

Posted by: slick-rick on October 7 2008 8:12 PM

I believe whatever SZD and his "reliable" sources say.

Posted by: Chester on October 7 2008 10:47 PM

So, who is left operating in Mackenzie? Employees from East Fraser Fibre have received notice that they will be shutting down indefinitely as of mid October. No wood supply, no more work.

Posted by: macktownmick on October 7 2008 11:56 PM

i guess worthington thought they were a lot richer then they truly were. they might have held a billion in assets 3 months ago, but with market bubbles bursting everywhere, not anymore. they now probably owe more then the investments are worth and the banks have come knocking. no wonder mr white is to busy to come see what he bought. lets just hope he is such a financial genius as he thinks he is ("...history of buying troubled assets and turning them around"). But i doubt it. mr whithe rode the largest bullmarket in history, accumalating assets by levering other assets, which is allright as long as all the values stay the same or go up. but we all know that no market can go up endlessly. but if he thinks he can just get out of this by selling us for scrap and walking away he might be in for a rude surprise when he gets the bill for the enviromental clean-up. mr white, you might be much better off selling us for even less then what you bought mack pulp for to anyone willing to run it, or you will end up like pope & talbot...bankrupt.

Posted by: macktownmick on October 8 2008 12:01 AM

p.s. Mr. White, what are you going to do about the 450,000 gallons of toxic chlorine dioxide sitting in holding tanks that are just about to freeze up and burst?

Posted by: rambleon on October 8 2008 1:54 AM

Chlorine Dioxide has a freezing point of just about -60 degrees Celsius (just colder than -75 degrees Fahrenheit).

It gets cold in the Mac, but...

Posted by: Mercenary on October 8 2008 5:57 AM

All I can say is that if this dude thinks he can sell the place for scrap he might have another think coming because the union and the people of Mackenzie will have the final word on this one.

Posted by: mythoughts on October 8 2008 7:16 AM

The union and the people of Mackenzie have no say and cannot stop the owner from selling the place for scrap, if that's what's happening. That would be like me trying to stop you from selling your home...not gonna happen.

Posted by: metalman on October 8 2008 8:00 AM

Yeah, face it, he owns the asset, it is his to do with what he sees fit. Or is there some weird deal going on where the new owner of the mill has to ask for permission to do something with what he just purchased? Maybe in a union pipe dream
but not in the real world. It is a damned shame if the mill goes for scrap (hopefully that is just a nasty rumour)
for it seems impossible to hope that another co. would come along and build a new plant of any kind from scratch. Maybe Worthington can weather the storm and hold on to their asset until the market improves for both lumber (to get a sawmill running for chip supply) and for pulp.
Otherwise, Mackenzie had better get busy and re-build itself as a recreational destination.
metalman.

Posted by: macktowngone on October 8 2008 4:02 PM

Well no shocker......The mill is done and never to be open again.............The End.

It was given a value of 20 million if it was scraped and the company paid what $6 million for it...no doubt, they are not as stupid as you think they will scrap the mill and walk away with millions...The plan from the start.

Posted by: LEN2 on October 9 2008 1:48 AM

Worthington Industries Inc. plans the Opening of the Mackenzie ...
Trading Markets (press release) - Los Angeles,CA,USA
This mills production capacity was approximately 235000 tons per day of Northern Bleached Softwood Kraft (NBSK) Pulp, used primarily for production of ...

Posted by: LEN2 on October 9 2008 1:54 AM

http://www.tradingmarkets.com:80/.site/news/Stock%20News/1929835/

Posted by: vulcan on October 9 2008 7:23 AM

Thanks for the post LEN2, interesting article maybe there is light at the end of the tunnel for Mackenzie.

Posted by: augiedoggie on October 9 2008 9:15 AM

There is no light at the end of the tunnel worthington f**ked us royally. Do you really think there is going to be any experienced operators left here to start up come spring?? If that is even his true intentions?? All I can say is it's a bloody shame....