WhereWeWork

Vision 2017
CO o n i f e x t o b r i n g j o b s w i t h s a w m i l l r e n o v a t i o n
n Jan. 30, about Loftin and Mike Dumas, how important the global 150 people president and CEO of the economy is to the state of gathered at the El Dorado-Union County Arkansas,” the governor
Conifex Timber Inc. site south of El Dorado to celebrate the renovation and reopening of the for- mer Georgia-Pacific saw- mill.
Conifex Timber Inc., a Canada-based forestry and sawmilling compa- ny, will create about 120 new, full-time jobs once the facility is reopened. The company is invest- ing $80 million in the Union County sawmill.
“This project provides Conifex with access to lumber and timber mar- kets in the U.S. South,” said Ken Shields, CEO of Conifex. “Our commit- ment of $80 million to this facility will ensure the long term sustain- ability of this site and contribute to our overall company growth.
“We are pleased by the warm welcome and professionalism of the government and private sector partners we have worked with here in El Dorado and throughout the state,” Shields said.
“This is an important event for not only South Arkansas, but for the entire state,” said Gov. Asa Hutchinson.
Hutchinson congratu- lated El Dorado Mayor Frank Hash, Union County Judge Mike
Chamber of Commerce on their efforts to bring industry to South Arkansas.
“What you do is import- ant, not just to El Dorado and Union County, but all you do here is import- ant for the entire state of Arkansas,” Hutchinson said.
“Southern Arkansas hosts one of the great- est timber supply baskets in the United States,” Shields said. Having a facility located here also puts the plant with- in easy shipping of 60 percent of all new home construction, which is expected to occur in the 13 states of the South, Shields said.
Conifex mainly pro- duces structural grade Spruce Pine Fir dimen- sion lumber, according to a news release from the company.
Saw timber purchases are expected to amount to 700,000 tons per year, or $30 million, from sup- pliers within an approxi- mate 60-mile radius.
The company plans for the El Dorado facility to produce 180 million board feet initially.
Besides the direct economic benefit of the sawmill employees, there will be hundreds of
Randal Curtman/News-Times
Job Announcement: Ken Shields, CEO of Conifex, listens as Gov. Asa Hutchinson discusses plans to re-open the former Georgia-Pacific saw mill south of El Dorado on Jan. 30 at the facility. Conifex is investing $80 million into the Union County facility and expects to hire 120 people once the facility is up and running later this year.
said. “Our agriculture, our timber, our rice — all are shipped all around the world,” Hutchinson said. “I hope this admin- istration understands how important the global economy is to our state.”
Headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, Conifex Timber Inc. was established in 2008 when it acquired its first idled sawmill in British Columbia.
A second mill followed two years later as well as a biomass power plant that has been in opera- tion since 2015.
The company has invested about $80 mil- lion in two Canadian sawmill complexes and related businesses as well as $100 million in its green power gernation business, creating over 500 jobs.
This will be Conifex’s first facility in Arkansas and the Southern U.S.
“The positive impacts of the plant are many fold,” said Mayor Hash. “From timber owners, timber harvesters, tim- ber processors, plant maintainers/suppliers and product transport- ers, the economic gains to all will be significant. The city of El Dorado welcomes Conifex.”
trucks carrying lumber and supplies to and from the facility each day.
“The indirect econom- ic development benefits are also considerable, too,” Shields said.
County Judge Loftin said he had driven by the idle plant twice a day for a decade, and he was
excited when he drove by recently and saw the lights were on at the saw- mill.
“I’m glad to see the property back in use. The jobs that will be cre- ated for citizens of Union County will be a great boost to our local econ- omy and many will see
great benefits.”
Gov. Hutchinson point-
ed out that Arkansas is a player in the global econ- omy, and the decision of a Canadian company to locate here further rein- forces the importance of international trade to Arkansans.
“I want people to know
GI reat Lakes holds ribbon-cutting for new pilot plant
Where We Work
t was February Dave Bartley, technol- to innovation and new 2016 when a ogy manager for Great product development,” ground-break- Lakes’ Arkansas plants. Bartley said.
ing was held for the new $5 million, 11,000 square-foot Pilot Plant at Great Lakes Solutions’ South Plant facility in El Dorado.
On Jan. 30, a group of plant employees, city and county officials and Gov. Asa Hutchinson were on hand for a rib- bon cutting for the now completed Pilot Plant project. Great Lakes Solutions is a business of Chemtura Corporation.
“This is important, and not just for Arkansas,” said Gov. Hutchinson. “Chemtura is a global company, and the glob- al marketplace is very important to us.”
As part of the expan- sion, Great Lakes Solutions will create six new high-paying jobs to support the compa- ny’s investment in the research-and-devel- opment facility, said
“This is a new position for South Arkansas, and the company invested money in our facilities,” Bartley said.
With global headquar- ters in Philadelphia, Penn. Chemtura manu- factures products in 11 countries and sells prod- ucts in over 80 coun- tries, according to the company website, chem- tura.com. The company has about 2,500 employ- ees in research, man- ufacturing, sales and administrative facilities in every major mar- ket of the world, with regional headquar- ters and shared service centers in Shanghai, China; Middlebury, Connecticut, USA; and Manchester, United Kingdom/Frauenfeld, Switzerland.
“The new pilot plant is part of Chemtura’s ongoing commitment
Bartley said the new plant is designed to “serve as a scale-up and test facility within the global technology group and will bridge between traditional laboratory experimentation and full-scale commercial production.”
“R&D is about the future,” said Gov. Hutchinson. “Great Lakes Solutions’ deci- sion to build their new research-and-develop- ment plant here gives us confidence that they plan to be here a long time.”
Great Lakes Solutions’ El Dorado manufactur- ing sites sit atop a bro- mine-rich brine reserve, the second largest brine reserve in the world, known as the Smackover Limestone Formation at a depth of 7,500 to 8,000 feet, according to a news release from the com-
Randal Curtman/News-Times
Pilot Plant: Gov. Asa Hutchinson, center, and Great Lakes Solutions CEO Craig Rog- erson, left of the governor, cut the ribbon on Jan. 30 at the new 11,000 square-foot Pilot Plant located at the company's South Plant facility in El Dorado. The pilot plant will be used for research and development.
Clean Harbors holds dedication for new incinerator
Local and state offi- cials, community leaders and cor-
porate representatives gathered in El Dorado on Dec. 6, 2016 for the unveiling of a $120 mil- lion, technologically advanced incinerator.
“Local and state offi- cials played a pivotal role in our success in El Dorado–this com- munity has been great,” said Clean Harbors Chairman and CEO Alan McKim during the dedi- cation ceremony.
Clean Harbors is a Massachusetts-based firm specializing in environmental, energy and industrial services.
The incinerator is the nation’s first new com- mercial incinerator to open in 20 years, and the two-year project will
Terrance Armstard/News-Times
A 20-Year First: The state-of-the-art incinerator built at Clean Harbors in 2016 is the nation’s first new commercial incinerator to open in 20 years. The two-year con- struction project brought about $21 million into the south Arkansas economy and is expected to bring 120 jobs to Union County.
“Two years ago we broke ground,” McKim said. “Now we have something that will dou- ble our capacity while meeting all the require- ments of the Clean Air Act,” McKim said.
Stringent standards under the Federal Clean Air Act and the permit- ting complexities make construction of such incinerators extremely difficult for the builder, according to the release.
The expansion is the largest capital invest- ment to a facility by Clean Harbors in the company’s 36-year his- tory.
The El Dorado facil- ity will be the first American incinerator to not only meet, but exceed, newer regulato- ry requirements.
“No one has ever done anything like it before,” McKim said of the proj- ect. “I am proud to have done it, and to have done it right here in El Dorado.”
The expansion adds a third incinerator to the 370-acre facility, which specializes in high-tem- perature destruction of hazardous and non-haz- ardous materials. The advanced new equip- ment nearly doubles the facility’s capacity from 90,000 tons of materi- al annually to approxi- mately 160,000 tons each year.
The state-of-the-art facility employs world- class air emissions con- trol technologies and is engineered to safely
See RIBBON, Page 14
pany.
Great Lakes Solutions
extracts the brine from their wells located
throughout the area, and the brine is trans- ported to the Company’s Arkansas plants through
a network of pipelines. There are three manu-
See PLANT, Page 14
create 120 jobs in Union County.
Construction of the
incinerator brought about $21 million into the southern Arkansas
economy, according to a news release from the company.