Terrance Bay Pulp Mill Preparing to Restart under Birla Ownership

The Terrace Bay pulp mill in the Thunder Bay District in northern Ontario, Canada, is approaching restart sometime this month, according to a report by The Chronicle Journal newspaper in Thunder Bay. Workers, however, are still waiting for an exact startup date, union officials say. About 350 people, union and management combined, worked in the mill when it was idled and put up for sale nearly a year ago.

The idle mill, formerly operated by a Buchanan Group subsidiary that became insolvent, was taken over in July by India's Aditya Birla Group. Birla plans to resume making traditional bleached market pulp, while spending $250 million over the next three years to convert the operation to produce dissolving pulp for rayon manufacture.

Birla said when the operation resumes production, it will carry a long-term workforce of 275. The company has reportedly been spending significantly more in pre-production efforts than the usual $5 million allotted for maintenance when the plant is idle.

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