It was a major expansion announcement and one applauded by Huntsville councillors at their April 16 Planning Council meeting.
Panolam, which in July 2024 sold its Huntsville plant to Daiken & Itochu under the name of Daiken North America Ltd, will undergo an estimated $70 million expansion.
“To be honest, this new investment puts new life in this facility,” said Senior VP and COO Al Stobbart, who said other areas were considered but Huntsville won out. “Before they invested in this facility, they did look worldwide. They were talking to a number of mill operations here, Europe, U.S.A.”
Stobbart said among the reasons for making the decision to manufacture a type of MDF board here was the abundance of a type of underutilized wood, skilled labour, available machinery, and government grants.
He said the product that will be manufactured here is not particleboard or Oriented Strand Board (OSB) but a hybrid between the two, which is much stronger, much lighter, and very unique. He said it was invented in Japan at the Daiken R&D centre, and the decision was made to manufacture the product here because this is where the market exists.
Plant engineer Aiden Burgess said the product application will be mainly used for flooring and RV panels.
Asked about employment by planning chair Councillor Bob Stone, Stobbart said the plant currently employs about 130 people and he anticipates another 10 people will be hired specifically for the new program, and probably 20 by the time the program is in full swing.
Councillor Monty Clouthier said work at the plant was noticeably dying down but since the change occurred, things have picked up significantly. “Al talks about the direct employment, it’s not just the direct employment but the contractors and jobs in getting the project built.
“This is major. This is as good a news as the G8 as far as I’m concerned,” said Clouthier. “There are a lot of blue-collar people in this town here and it’s a great news story. Thank you very much for bringing it to our town.”
Huntsville Mayor Nancy Alcock concurred. “I agree. After our tour, I was beaming, and I thought, ‘How lucky are we that we have Daiken in our community?'” she said. I am so thankful that you’re coming in with expansion plans during these challenging times. So I can’t be more supportive; I am thrilled to death.”
Councillor Cory Clarke called it fantastic news. He said it is hard to believe that it has been 45 years since the plant first opened, and said he hopes Daiken is successful for the next 45 years in Huntsville. “It’s a big win for us in Huntsville. I would place it right up back in the 70s when Kimberly-Clark came to town, and what a difference that made in the 70s and the 80s and present day for our community, and I would put this expansion in that same light,” he said, adding that Daiken’s investment in Huntsville is appreciated.
The project includes the construction of a new 152m² debarker building (with a maximum height of 17m), a new 1012.5m² strander building, ramps, and a new log storage yard.
Huntsville Council gave the project conditional planning approval. You can find the planning report HERE.
Don’t miss out on Doppler!
Sign up here to receive our email digest with links to our most recent stories.
Local news in your inbox so you don’t miss anything!
Click here to support local news
0 Comments