Skeena Sawmills chipper starts up
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Updated: November 16, 2009 9:33 AM
WEST FRASER has called back workers for an unexpected last round of chipping whole logs at its Skeena Sawmills plant here for its soon-to-be-closed Eurocan pulp and paper mill in Kitimat.
The idea is to ensure the Kitimat mill has just enough chips on hand to meet its production plans leading up to its last day of operations Jan. 31, says Skeena Sawmills manager Lou Poulin.
Speaking late last week, Poulin said it means a bit more work for 12 people, not including those who supply and deliver logs to the mill and those who will then deliver the chips to Kitimat.
“How long this will last, we don't know yet,” he said of the length of time the chipper will be operating.
Skeena Sawmills has sporadically supplied chips to the Eurocan mill whenever there's been a shortage from other West Fraser sawmills.
The plan this time is for Skeena Sawmills to supply chips if the company's other sawmills aren't supply material over Christmas, said Poulin.
Chipping logs has been the only activity at Skeena Sawmills for the past two years because the sawmill never did open again in 2007 after a lengthy labour dispute with the Steelworkers union was resolved.
This last round of chipping was not expected following the announcement by West Fraser the end of October that it was closing its unprofitable Eurocan mill Jan. 31.
