 |
|
Power, Pulp and Paper
Since the turn of the 20th century, the hydroelectric
capacity of the Exploits River has supported
one of central Newfoundland's major resource
industries. In the 21st century, an ambitious
expansion of the River's hydroelectric capacity
will continue to benefit the newsprint mill
at Grand Falls-Windsor, while supplying excess
power to other Newfoundland and Labrador hydro
consumers. The replacement and modernization
of hydroelectric units at Bishop's Falls,
as well as the installation of a 27-megawatt
unit at Grand Falls-Windsor, will boost the
River's energy production by approximately
30%.
Manufacturing Longevity: The newsprint mill
at Grand Falls-Windsor has been in continuous
operation since 1909, when the first roll
of newsprint rolled off the line built by
the town's A.N.D. Company founders. Newfoundland's
first pulp and paper plant was established
by British newspaper magnates Alfred and Harold
Harmsworth, who recognized both the combined
potential of the Exploit River's vast timber
resources and hydroelectric capacity, and
the advantages of the nearby deep-water port
of Botwood. Until 1960, when Price Brothers
and Company Limited acquired majority ownership
of the plant, Grand Falls operated as a company
town, with all aspects of commercial and social
life controlled by the A.N.D. Company.
Today, the town is no longer under corporate
control, but with over 500 employees, the
newsprint mill, owned by Abitibi Consolidated,
remains a major employer in the Exploits valley.
The Grand Falls plant is one of 3 newsprint
mills in Newfoundland, contributing significantly
to the province's $600 million pulp and paper
production value. As a whole, forestry is
the third largest employer in Newfoundland
and Labrador's goods-producing sector, next
to fishing and mining, providing approximately
10,000 industry-related jobs.
Grand
Falls Newsprint Notes
• The
newsprint plant in Grand Falls on the Exploits
River is owned by Abitibi Consolidated, an
international conglomerate with ownership
interests in 27 paper mills in Canada, the
United States, the United Kingdom and Asia.
• The plant produces standard and coloured
newsprint, including lightweight and high
bright newsprint (uncoated groundwood paper
with a higher-than-standard brightness level).
• The plant requires 600,000 square metres
of fibre each year in raw materials. (Fibre
consists of the structural components of trees
that are separated from each other during
the pulping operation, and reassembled into
the form of a sheet during the papermaking
process.)
• The annual production
capacity of the plant is 213,000 metric tonnes. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
