TERRACE — Wayne Haw, sawmill manager at the Skeena Cellulose mill, ‘recently announced the mill’s parent company, Repap Ltd. of Montreal, has given provisional ap- proval to a $25 million plan to replace the aging facility with a new mill.

by Michael Kelly

“This has been a long time coming, and we're pretty excited about it,’’

' Haw said in a recent inter-

view. He cautioned, however, that final ap- proval for the project will not be granted until there is more certainty regard: ing the B.C. government’s policy on timber pricing in the wake of the new ex-

‘port tax on finished _ lumber.

‘‘We're just saying there are still unanswered

* questions, What we need

from the government is a statement of intent that there won’t be any radical changes,’’ Haw said. He indicated the 15 percent export on lumber going to the U.S. will have only a marginal effect on the

Skeena Cellulose opera-

tion because the U.S. market only takes about five percent of the mill’s production. An increase in stumpage rates, however, would have an across-the- board impact on costs for both the company’s Ter- race sawmill and its pulp mill in Prince Rupert. Haw said the prepara- tory work for the new mill has already begun with the assigning of a design team and drafting of tenders.

The structure will go up .

on the same property at the present mill, and it will occupy the area along the Keith Rd. frontage now being used as a log yard. The construction schedule will; allow the present sawmill to continue operating while the new mill is being built,

minimizing the shutdown period when thé new mill is started up...

Plans include a’ new planer mill to be built across the back of the pro- perty adjacent to the CN

In Court

In Terrace Provincial Court on Tuesday, Jan. 6 Henry Davidson was fined $250 for assault.

ake

On Tuesday, Jan. 6 in

Terrace Provincial Court

_. Alvin Seymour was jailed

14 days. for operating a motor vehicle while his ability. to drive was im- paired... ake In Terrace Provincial Court on Friday, Jan. 9

Werner Haselmeyer was ined $300 for assault.

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New mill a possibility

The Skeena Cellulose sawmill in Terrace uses old technology that may soon be replaced with the construction of anew mill

Project |

requires final approval.

This ‘bin sorter building will

ent Skeena:Cellulose sawmill ' incorporated into a proposed new sawmill if the project recelves final approval. Repap Enterprises Inc., the

parent company of Skeena

Cellulose, ts waiting for a clear policy statement from the B.C. and federal govern- ments on taxation and stumpage rate changes before going ahead with con- struction.

railway lines.

The new sawmill, Haw said, will be a two-line mill that will allow the opera- tion more flexibility in jts production mix and the size of logs used; better technology, he said, will result in a production in-

crease of about 18 percent from the same quantity of |

logs presently being mil- led.

The Skeena Cellulose sawmill was built in 1959, and most of the equip-

ment and machinery used in it dates back to the early 1960’s and mid-1970's. “It’s an old mill,” Haw

remarked, ‘‘and previous owners have put very little investment in it. We’re fortunate that the new owners are able to make this kind of investment -up to this point we've been running it on a shoe- string.”

Another feature of the new plant will be retire- ment of the notorious

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Haw stated that. after construction of the new mill is complete employ- ment levels will drop; but the total workforce re- quired for the updated operation has not yet been established in detail. Any lay-offs, he said, will be undertaken in accordance with the IWA_ master agreement, The company . is presently investigating options for affected workers, including Canada Employment retraining programs and early retirement packages.

- There are presently about 190 hourly-paid employees at the sawmill. .

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