Canfor Pulp's P.G.-Intercon complex is due for an extended shutdown this summer to carry out $20.5 million worth of work on a boiler and to complete the last of four government-assisted upgrades.
The work will be carried out over June and July and the complex's 625 employees will remain on the job, Canfor Pulp spokesperson David Scott said Thursday. "We're going to continue to operate the parts of the mill that aren't affected by the project and we'll have all the employees involved in other maintenance work during this capital project so everyone's going to be very busy."
The work on the boiler consists of replacing the bottom, Scott said.
The finishing touches on the last of the last of four projects under the federal government's green energy fund will also be completed, Scott said, when tie-ins from the boiler to a new feed water system will be carried out. The new system, costing $32.8 million, will reduce the amount of water the complex - consisting of the P.G. and Intercontintental pulp and paper mills - will take from the Nechako River.
The shutdown will take a 28,000 tonnes out of production. The largest of the four projects, a $107.2-million upgrade of the No. 1 recovery boiler at the Northwood pulp mill, took a longer-than-expected 10-week shutdown ending in mid-October and took 65,000 tonnes out of production. In a quarterly conference call this week, Canfor Pulp CEO Joe Nemeth said preliminary results indicate the upgrade is meeting expectations. Benefits from the project were to include a 70 per cent reduction in total reduced sulphur compounds and a 50 per cent reduction in particulate emissions. Under the green transformation program, launched in response to the U.S. black liquor subsidy. Canfor Pulp is receiving $122 million from the federal government and is putting in a further $33 million of its own money. The two other completed projects are installation of a new electrostatic precipitator at PG-Intercon for $10.7-million project to reduce particulate emissions and make the boiler to run more efficiently and a $4.3-million project to increase power generation, also at PG-Intercon.
