News
Dissolving pulp conversion almost complete at Quebec mill

The final stage of the conversion to dissolving pulp production is underway at Fortress Paper Ltd.’s Specialty Cellulose mill in Thurso, Que. The company announced Oct. 12 that it had shut down production to allow construction work to proceed.

The final stage of the conversion to dissolving pulp production is underway at Fortress Paper Ltd.’s Specialty Cellulose mill in Thurso, Que. The company announced Oct. 12 that it had shut down production to allow construction work to proceed.

Peter Vinall, CEO of Fortress Specialty Cellulose, explains: “The Thurso mill conversion has entered the final shutdown phase which represents the ending of NBHK production at the mill. We have mobilized a workforce of over 800 workers on site to assist with final mill connections and de-bottlenecking work. When the mill is restarted in early November it will be a low cost, high quality dissolving pulp producer with an annual production capacity of approximately 200,000 tonnes.” The Fortress Specialty Cellulose mill was purchased by Fortress in early 2010.

The construction of a cogeneration facility to provide 18.8 megawatts per year of green power to Hydro Quebec for a 15-year term has also recently broken ground, and is scheduled for completion in the second half of 2012.