A solitary pellet mill makes the plantʼs 35,000 tons annually, and is maintained to run 24/7. MORE GROWTH AHEAD The Papineauville pellet operation runs with eight people in administration, although this group also shares some responsibility for the company’s other pellet mill in St. Paulin, east of Montreal. The Papineauville mill relies on 16 plant employees to run 24/7, while the St. Pau- lin plant adds two more administrators and 14 to 16 on the fl oor for another 25 tons/year or so. While the two plants have a combined capacity of close to 75,000 tons, they have more typical- ly produced 60,000 tons/year. Like most pellet plants, inconsistent markets, supply shortages, and plant ineffi ciencies have combined to limit production well below capacity. “Markets have been a year-to-year challenge. Compared to any other energy source, domes- tic pellet use and pricing have been a flat line with a few bumps. There’s lots of potential, but it’s still a young industry. We’ve had shortages in the past, which scares people just as they start thinking of using pellets. There’s more talk of that this year again, even with the new plants coming on line. Then we’ll have a mild winter, and supply outstrips demand.” Yet the company is currently planning on some sustained growth, and has recently been staffi ng up to prepare for it. For example, McIn- tosh had until recently been general manager, handling both sales and production. He now focuses 100% on sales, with Pierre Tremblay handling operations. Part of this growth is ex- pected to come from the St. Paulin plant, which was shut down in April 08 for a major rebuild. It originally ran with three pellet mills – two small and one large. The two small units are being replaced with a larger one, for efficiency and added production. “We started off with a two-phase project, and were going to do the first $750,000 phase this year. With the market, we’ve decided to do it all in one go, and are investing $1.5 million this year to bring it up to a state-of-the-art fa- cility, with computer controls, fire suppression, automated packaging – the works.” “It’s fair to say we see this as a growth mar- ket,” McIntosh concludes. • 22 CanadianBIOMASS DECEMBER 2008
Canadian Biomass December 2008: Page 22
