Feasibility Study on Eurocan Says There is a Chance for Survival
By 250 News
Tuesday, March 23, 2010 03:58 AM
Kitimat, B.C. – The feasibility study on the possible future of the now closed Eurocan mill, is complete, and it presents a picture of a “renewed Eurocan”.
The study says it is possible for the mill to operate and be paid off in 5 years making sack Kraft paper on machine number 2.
That kind of operation would provide 250 – 270 direct jobs, but there are still hurdles.
CEP Local 298 President Mary Murphy says the first thing they have to do is secure a fiber supply. “We have the Forest Coalition on side because they know its not just about jobs in Kitimat, it’s about jobs for the whole region, so that was number one.”
The second challenge is to reach an agreement with West Fraser, the current owners of the mill, to maintain the assets. West Fraser had previously agreed not to remove anything from site until at least April 1st, but has now served notice it will allow potential equipment buyers on site for a two week period starting March 29th “We have to move quickly” says Murphy.
The third challenge is to find investors, and that means there has to be a business plan. “We have to be fairly aggressive here because of the time factors” says Murphy. The authors of the feasibility plan already have a great deal of the information and could develop the business plan in relatively short order, but, it will cost another $200 thousand dollars, and that is money the Union simply doesn’t have. Murphy says they will first have to find investors to help pay for the business plan before they go looking for investors to buy the mill.
“We still have tons of work to do” says Murphy, “We are still encouraging workers to move on, not to wait for us. We hope to be meeting with West Fraser later this week.”
The feasibility report will be made public in a couple of weeks.
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Posted by: He spoke on March 23 2010 8:56 AM
Hemp is a far superior fiber source than wood. It is annually renewable, and grows in very poor soil with little care.
harvesting is much simpler with less waste on the ground and any waste is the leaves which decomposes very rapidly.
It is too bad that Ralph Randall Hearst felt that his timber holding were threatened by hemp.
These are 2 separate issues that are are often confused. We have the lobby for the narcotic and many have confused the issue on both sides by insisting on tying hemp with sativa.
They are not the same thing at all. Hemp is in the same family as sativa, that is where it ends. I believe that tomatoes and potatoes are both in the nightshade family, yet we have not had tomatoes banned. So why is hemp illegal or prohibited?
I can see why a government would control non-distance travel (taking a trip without leaving your chair), but why restrict a fantastic fiber source?