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A year-old Calgary rail firm has bought the property of a former Canfor pulp mill in northeastern British Columbia, with plans to show it right into a distribution hub for power, agriculture and forestry industries.
Buffalo Rail and Infrastructure stated Tuesday the $7-million acquisition will see the corporate take over Canfor Pulp Merchandise Inc.’s 300-acre industrial property in Taylor, B.C., a 1,300-person group between Fort St. John and Dawson Creek.
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The mill beforehand produced bleached chemi-thermo mechanical pulp utilized in packaging and tissue merchandise. Canfor briefly closed the plant in late 2021 and prolonged to the start of 2023, citing “a discount within the long-term provide of fibre within the Peace area.”
The corporate’s CEO stated the Coastal Gaslink pipeline, anticipated to return on-line in 2025, goes to drew giant inbound and outbound demand for power merchandise within the space.
“(The location) is in a main location to facilitate the actions of commodities out and in of an space that’s having an financial increase with respect to power,” stated Buffalo Rail CEO Jarrett Zeilinski.
Buffalo Rail shall be specializing in bettering the provision chain for frac sand into northeast B.C., which Zeilinski stated presently lacks streamlined transportation infrastructure wanted to move the fabric. (Frac sand is the fabric injected right into a rock formation with water within the means of hydraulic fracturing, informally referred to as fracking — a technique used to extract pure fuel and oil from deep rock formations.)
Whereas there are a number of rail amenities in northeastern B.C., Zeilinski stated they’re not giant sufficient to accommodate the volumes arriving to the realm. In consequence, vehicles are sometimes deployed to make spherical journeys between northeast B.C. communities and Grande Prairie.
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Buffalo Rail stated the primary section of improvement will herald 100 development jobs and 30 full-time jobs — a part of its $50 million funding within the space over the primary section, it stated. Zeilinski stated the positioning “could ultimately make use of a whole lot of individuals.”
Buffalo Rail was created in 2023 “by a various staff of logistics trade veterans to capitalize on world shifts in provide chain technique.” It’s a sister firm of Torq Power Logistics Ltd.
Canfor introduced earlier in March it had bought the property to an unnamed purchaser.
Canfor for a number of years has referred to struggles accessing fibre wanted to assist its operations in B.C.
Final yr the forest merchandise firm closed its pulp mill in Prince George, B.C., leading to layoffs of greater than 200 individuals. The corporate on the time cited an absence of fibre wanted to maintain operations. It has additionally closed its Chetwynd sawmill for a similar cause prior to now yr.
Canfor reported a web $117-million loss within the fourth quarter of 2023, leading to a complete $532-million working loss in 2023.
— With information from the Canadian Press
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