The old Millar Western saw mill will once again be back on the market, as Northland Forest Products (NFP) will not be reopening it for business. NFP purchased the mill Dec.
The old Millar Western saw mill will once again be back on the market, as Northland Forest Products (NFP) will not be reopening it for business.
NFP purchased the mill Dec. 24, 2015, during the time when Millar Western had announced they would be closing, resulting in the loss of over 90 jobs. Since then, the facility has been under a 13-month evaluation by Northlands.
In an interview, NFP president Howard Ewashko said the company decided to keep the mill closed because it still was not “financially sustainable,” noting that the wood supply was under extreme pressure due to the Fort McMurray wildfires, caribou-protected lands and oil field industry expansion.
Ewashko also said it is “hard to make an investment without having solid knowledge on future wood supply.”
“We've been taking a look at other opportunities, but since we've had the fire in Fort McMurray, we've taken another hit to the wood supply,” he said.
“It really hasn't changed from when Millar owned and operated (the facility),” he added. “We just can't – it's not good to hold onto an asset like that forever and try to wait for the right answer. We felt for the community and for Northland, it was best to have some closure on it.”
Ewashko said there is no written or public statement has been made by NFP about the sale of the mill, as the company only informed stakeholders and the Village of Boyle.
Ewashko said NFP will be looking at different options and “the best way” to close down the site before offering it for sale. He added they could sell its equipment piece by piece to various buyers or sell the site as a whole.
“We are chatting to a few people that are interested, but it's too early on to say what the outcome will be,” he said. “Whether there's opportunity to piece it out I'm not too sure. It's early in the discussion, and different people want different things.”
Ewashko did not release the names of the interested parties, but Alberta-Pacific Forest Industries is not one of the interested buyers.
“Al-Pac has no interest in purchasing the site,” said Al-Pac media co-ordinator Brent Rabik in an email.
Village of Boyle chief administrative officer Charlie Ashbey said this is a big deal for the village, already noticing the negative economic effects over a year after Millar Western ended operations on site.
“In terms of an employer that had the people right on the ground in Boyle, they were hands down the biggest employer,” Ashbey said. “Plus, with the log haul, those trucks are going in and out of Boyle, so you get some residual business on top of the 90-odd jobs.”
Ashbey said the saw mill was the biggest utility customer for the village, especially in the natural gas usage with the drying kilns. It was also the biggest machinery and equipment (M&E) taxpayer.
According to the Village of Boyle's tax assessment profile, the M&E tax line generated over $12 million per year from 2014-2016, making up 12 per cent of the village's total tax assessment during that time.
“Really, they're the only M&E assessment we have, so when you see the M&E number there, that's Millar Western,” Ashbey said.
Ashbey declined to comment how the closing will affect the village's 2017 budget.
“I rather not get into it, because I don't want to discuss a company's individual assessment,” he said. “I rather not get into that. But I think it's enough to say that eventually when the mill is no longer operable, it's going to be a big hole in our tax base. Just leave it at that.”
