News
Harmac shows interest in new pulp technology, but no deal reached

A local newspaper is reporting that talks regarding a new pulping technology for Nanaimo Forest Products’ Harmac mill have fallen through. According to the Nanaimo Daily News on Aug. 12, a consultant for Voith AG said the deadline has come and…

A local newspaper is reporting that talks regarding a new pulping technology for Nanaimo Forest Products’ Harmac mill have fallen through. According to the Nanaimo Daily News on Aug. 12, a consultant for Voith AG said the deadline has come and gone for the B.C. government to invest in the pulping technology that was being considered by Harmac.

There are varying opinions on just how close the Harmac deal was to completion.

“From our side of things, we said we were definitely interested in doing a feasibility study and trying the technology at Harmac,” president Levi Sampson told the newspaper. “I knew there were discussions with Voith and the [provincial] government, but we weren’t involved in their discussions.”

Industry consultant Garry Young told the Nanaimo newspaper that when the deadline had passed to receive $3.5 million funding for a developmental machine at Harmac, Voith officials determined they would no longer try to develop the new process in British Columbia. The Voith technology under discussion is referred to as “hybrid fibre.”