Paper Excellence and One Sky sign co-location agreement for new OSB mill

There’s some more good news for the future of the forestry industry in Prince Albert.

Paper Excellence, the company behind the restart of the local pulp mill, announced Tuesday it has signed an agreement with One Sky Forest Products to operate its new oriented strand board (OSB) operations at the existing Prince Albert mill site.

In September, One Sky announced it would begin construction on the new OSB plant in 2022 with a scheduled completion date in the fall of 2023.

The new mill is expected to create around 700 jobs in the community.

Both companies received softwood and hardwood fibre allocations from the Government of Saskatchewan in the fall.

The new agreement means One Sky will occupy approximately 10 per cent of the existing property, and the two companies will share log storage areas and existing infrastructure, including electrical, natural gas, and rail lines.

“On behalf of Paper Excellence, I am pleased to announce this agreement with One Sky and begin moving forward with them on a co-location partnership,” said Carlo Dal Monte, the company’s vice-president of Energy and Business Development.

“As we continue to work towards restarting Prince Albert Pulp Inc., this agreement is an example of how important co-operation and collaboration is to both the forest industry and to Saskatchewan’s economic growth overall.”

“This partnership is another indication of the growing strength of the Saskatchewan forest industry and an important milestone in progressing our new OSB facility in Prince Albert,” added Brian Fehr, the chairman of One Sky Forests Products.

By Derek Craddock, paNOW