Pellet Profile Platinum production Upgrading the Okanagan Pellet Company plant By Andrew Snook It takes a lot of work to go platinum, just ask the Okana-gan Pellet Company in West Kelowna, B.C. Acquired from Westwood Fibre by Viridis Energy in 2010, the 65,000 sq. ft. pellet plant manufactures some of North America’s highest-quality wood pellets for light industrial and residential use. OPC launched four brands of pellets including Okanagan Platinum, its main brand; Okanagan Douglas Fir; Okanagan Gold (yellow pine); and Okanagan Nordics, a pellet manufactured specifically for customers throughout Europe. “We consider OPC to have one of the best pellets on the market,” says Chris Robertson, director, CEO and founder of Viridis Energy. The reason they have one of the world’s best pellets? Simple. It’s the fibre. “The fibre we get here is purely softwood sawdust and shav-ings, we don’t have any green wood. That’s why we have such a premium product,” says Renata Bellentani, sales and logistics manager for Viridis Energy. The majority of the OPC’s 60,000 tons of pellets produced annually are destined for the U.S. with the balance going to customers in Canada, the U.K., Italy and South Korea. Viridis Energy recently announced a three-phase plan to dou-ble the facility’s production over the next two years with a total investment ranging between $4 million and $5 million. “The whole concept was to take this opportunity now and find what this plant needs to take it to the next level,” Bellentani says. “For us to increase our reach into the market, we want to have Chris Robertson, director, CEO and founder of Viridis Energy, explains the three-phase project underway at the Okanagan Pellet Company during a recent tour of the facility. 14 Canadian BIOMASS NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015
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