Catalyst Paper Corporation has a multi-faceted approach to success in a fluid marketplace.
Fred Chinn, general manager at Catalyst’s Powell River operation, outlined the state of the industry, and Powell River’s place in it, at a community stakeholder meeting, Tuesday, September 30.
The mill’s operating philosophy is something Chinn feels strongly about when talking to mill personnel and people inside and outside of the organization. It contains the pillars of what will make the mill successful, profitable and a long-term viable employer in the community.
First is safety. Chinn said everyone has the right to, and the mill has a responsibility to provide, an environment where employees go to work and go home as healthy as they arrived, “having spent a rewarding and value-filled day contributing to the operation.”
The second component is environmental stewardship. Chinn said without the support of the community, the regulators and the mill’s own employees, the mill can’t exist.
“We believe in and practice what we consider to be extreme environmental stewardship,” Chinn said. “That’s not just this mill. If you look at the Port Alberni and Crofton operations, we have a philosophy that differs quite a bit from a lot of our competitors.”
Third is profitability, because without it, the mill can’t exist. He said the mill is working diligently to ensure its long-term profitability.
The fourth component is the people, ranging from the mill’s employees and the community, to every supplier, contractor and everyone else the operation touches.
Chinn provided a comparison of the three Catalyst operations.
He said in Powell River, there are three paper machines, roughly 440 employees, annually creating 469,000 tonnes of specialty papers.
Port Alberni has two paper machines, approximately 330 employees, manufacturing 116,000 tonnes of directory and 231,000 tonnes of coated papers.
Crofton has two paper machines and two pulp machines, approximately 570 employees, and is putting out 270,000 tonnes of newsprint, 57,000 tonnes of directory and 350,000 tonnes of NBSK (northern bleached softwood kraft) market pulp.
Atypical of many mills in Canada, Catalyst’s facilities are located right in coastal communities, as opposed to remote locations. Chinn said the company truly values that it can generate profitability for the communities in which it operates and its employees.
Providing some history, Chinn said Powell River’s mill began operating in 1912 with two paper machines and 600 employees, producing 110 tonnes of paper per day. In 2013, operating paper machines nine, 10 and 11, the mill produced 1,290 tonnes of product per day.
“The world has changed,” Chinn said. “The machines of the past are very different from the machines of today.”
In terms of safety, health and well-being at the mill, Chinn projected a photograph of paper machines one and two from the early days. Employees worked in bare feet because leather rotted in all of the water. There was no hearing protection, eye protection or wearing of hard hats.
“You can imagine the injuries and the lifespans of a lot of the workers in the early turn of the century compared to today,” Chinn said. “We take it very seriously. We do a lot of things to ensure the health and well-being of everybody, not only the workers but those that live around the site as well.”
Chinn said 2014 has been the best safety year in more than 10 years.
“We’ve had fewer injuries, fewer first aids and better overall performance,” he said.
There have been one-third less incidents requiring first aid and not even a quarter of the number of lost-time injuries at the mill since the beginning of 2014.
“We’re having a remarkable safety year,” he said. “We are very proud of that. We have a long way to go before we are at the level we want to be, but it’s an extremely good result.”
As part of the commitment to safety, on October 1 the mill upgraded its personal protective equipment policy.
“We are raising the bar and moving ourselves up to provide that extra level of safety.”
