Millar Western to spend $45.8 million to build new sawmill in Fox Creek, Canada

Jun 21, 2010. /Lesprom Network/. Millar Western Forest Products Ltd. plans to build a new, advanced-technology sawmill on the Fox Creek, Alberta, site of a company sawmill lost to fire nearly two years ago. Construction of the new sawmill will commence this month, with completion and commissioning slated for the 3Q 2011 and full startup anticipated by the end of that year, the company said in a statement received by Lesprom Network. Built at an estimated cost of $45.8 million, the new mill will have a design capacity of 117 million board feet of lumber per year, and will employ approximately 55 people full-time, working on a single-shift basis. The project will be financed from company cash flows, including proceeds received from insurance on the fire loss, the outstanding balance of which amounts to $7.6 million. The full project scope will include construction of a new sawmill, upgrades to the site’s existing planer mill, installation of dry kilns, and site improvements to enhance log storage and handling and fire suppression capability. The sawmill design will incorporate two primary breakdown lines, one for large logs and one for small logs, to provide for efficient processing of the operation’s timber supply. The mill will employ state-of-the-art technology to achieve optimal lumber recovery and will accommodate the production of a range of specialty wood products, in addition to dimension lumber. The new sawmill will be one of four forest products manufacturing operations owned and operated by Millar Western, a privately held company producing dimension lumber and high-yield pulp at facilities in Whitecourt and Boyle, Alberta, in addition to Fox Creek.