Catalyst invests $10 million into its Port Alberni mill in Canada

May 06, 2009. /Lesprom Network/. Catalyst Paper has invested $10 million into its Port Alberni, British Columbia mill. Two new motors have been purchased and installed in the mill, replacing a pair of 20 year old motors, as ForestTalk informed Lesprom Network. The new motors crank out 34 thousand horsepower and use considerably less electricity than the motors they are replacing. “All of the people involved in the planning and execution of this expansion are to be commended,” said Catalyst Papers’ Port Alberni mill manager Dale Shimell. “This upgrade was a key part of our agreement for a safe, creative, long-term, viable two-machine operation in Port Alberni.” “Having these new motors installed and running is definitely good news for our members and the entire City of Port Alberni,” said Communication, Energy, and Paperworkers Union Local 592 President Jim VanDusen. “To get that amount of capital investment certainly helps the feeling of security for our members.” The $10 million upgrade was Catalyst’s part of a deal signed May 1, 2008 with its Alberni employees that saw workers agree to new wage and shift structures, in what union leaders called “a survival deal.”