[mylesmalley]

Solar panel company to buy Miramichi mill
Published Thursday January 8th, 2009


Norwegian firm expected to be announced as buyer of UPM-Kymmene in the coming weeks
A1
BY KRIS MCDAVID
Times & Transcript Staff

ENLARGE PHOTO


McDavid, Kristofer/TIMES & TRANS
A recent view of the former UPM-Kymmene paper mill in Newcastle, as well as a look at its former groundwood pulp mill across the river in Nelson. All UPM signage was removed from the properties this week.
UPM-Kymmene announced yesterday that it has a "definitive" agreement in place for the sale of all of its assets in New Brunswick.

The Times & Transcript has learned that the interested party could be Umoe Solar -- a Norwegian-based solar energy firm that toured the Miramichi facilities last year.

UPM spokeswoman Sharon Pond said she wouldn't be able to confirm the buyer or what will be included in the deal until it's finalized sometime later this month.

"I look forward to the day that I can actually say something, but this certainly indicates something to be happy about," she said.

She said the agreement was signed on Tuesday.

UPM-Kymmene, headquartered in the Finnish capital of Helsinki, purchased the bankrupt Repap pulp, paper, and lumber operation in 2000, followed by the Smurfit Stone Container sawmill in Bathurst for almost $1 billion.

The company shuttered and tore down its Miramichi kraft mill in 2004, leaving 400 people out of work.

UPM -- once the largest single employer in the Miramichi region -- effectively ended its relationship with the city in 2007 when it shut down its groundwood pulp mill and paper mill, as well as a sawmill in Blackville, cutting an extra 650 jobs.

It has continued to operate the Bathurst sawmill, although company executives have been saying since last summer that they wanted out of New Brunswick entirely.

It seems the Finnish forestry giant has finally gotten its wish, and Public Safety Minister and Miramichi Centre MLA John Foran said the deal could help lift the entire region out of a dark time that saw countless local workers leave for greener pastures in the western provinces.

"I'm quite happy that this is finally coming together, and this should spur further economic opportunities in the Miramichi area," said Foran.

"Hopefully we're going to be looking at some jobs in the immediate future, and increase that in the near future. I think the Miramichi is going to be a good place to be in the next few years and I think we'll be bringing our people back from out west."

"I think 2009 will be the start of the upturn here, and certainly better than 2007 and 2008."

Business Minister Greg Byrne said the diversification of Miramichi's resource-based economy and getting people back to work at the UPM site has been a priority for the government for some time.

Byrne was tight-lipped about revealing any further details about the purchase, saying he'd rather not wade into those discussions until everything is official.

"It's very positive news, and a great first step that the assets of UPM have been sold to a third party," he said.

"I think that gives rise to some optimism and excitement on the Miramichi, but at this point we're really not in a position to throw any more light on this."

Miramichi mayor Gerry Cormier said he hadn't yet been contacted by anybody to confirm the sale.

Foran added that he's confident there will be even more good news for Miramichi this year.

Talks of a potential sale for the former Weyerhaeuser oriented stand board mill have been ongoing for months, with Quebec forestry company Arbec repeatedly expressing their interest in the property.

Also, the Northumberland County Woodlot Owners' Association is looking to begin construction on a wood pellet mill in Miramichi sometime this year, through collaboration with European sustainable energy company BioResource.

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As a frequent visitor to the 'chi, I'm really glad to see some economic development happening there. Because of it's reliance on a single industry, teh entire region has been battered because of the downturn in the pulp and paper industry in the past ten years. While not replacing all the lost jobs, hopefully projects like this will spur further growth and create spinoff and support jobs.

Also, sure as hell beats another Wal*Mart