Paper Excellence announced today (April 6) it has aquired an interest in the Atli Chip Limited Partnership.
The Partnership acquired the assets of the North Island Chipping facility situated in Beaver Cove, located on the traditional territory of the ‘Namgis First Nation.
The facility is capable of processing 300,000 to 400,000 m3 of chips per year for use in the pulp and paper industry from local supplies of pulpwood and salvage wood.
Atli Chip Limited Partnership is majority owned by Atli Resources LP with minority stakes owned by Paper Excellence and Wahkash Contracting Ltd. Atli Resources LP is a forest company beneficially owned by the ‘Namgis First Nation and Wahkash Contracting Ltd. is a stump-to-dump logging contractor specializing in remote logging in coastal BC.
“Paper Excellence is proud to be a part of the Atli Chip Limited Partnership,” said Quinton Hayward, Chief Forester for Paper Excellence. “As a company, we understand the importance of being good neighbors and greatly value our relationships with Indigenous communities and their business ventures. This is an exciting opportunity to build mutually beneficial business partnerships and support community investment.”
Don Svanvik, ‘Namgis Chief Councillor added, “We are very excited about the opportunity for Atli Chip Limited Partnership to take over operations of this facility to meet the growing needs of the industry and to acquire a business that we believe will have long-term economic and environmental benefits for the ‘Namgis people and the North Island as a whole. The ‘Namgis have long been a significant contributor to the economic health of the north Island and this acquisition will continue that tradition. We look forward to working together with our new partners.”
Dorian Uzzell, President of Wahkash Contracting added, “We are proud and excited for the opportunity to work with these partners. It’s partnerships like this one that build confidence in the forest industry by providing long-term job security in our rural communities.”
In conjunction with the acquisition, Paper Excellence is entering into a chipping services agreement to receive all the chip and hog production from the facility and a Salvage Agreement with Atli Resources LP to increase First Nations participation in the forest sector.
A key goal of the new business is increasing the utilization of local waste and salvage wood in the operations. “Atli Chip Limited Partnership will serve a key role in reducing the amount of residual fibre left behind after primary forest harvesting,” said Hayward. “Processing fibre that currently is left on the forest floor will result in less slash burning of post-harvest waste ensuring better utilization of the forest resources and carbon reduction.”
Paper Excellence, headquartered in British Columbia, is a diversified manufacturer of pulp and specialty, printing, writing, and packaging papers. The company operates eight mills and a large-scale cargo distribution centre in Canada producing and shipping over 3.0 million tonnes annually with a workforce of more than 3,000. Paper Excellence is poised to continue to grow with its strategy of operational excellence and high-quality, cost-effective products.
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