TORONTO, April 1,
2022 /CNW/ - GreenFirst Forest Products Inc.
(TSXV: GFP) ("GreenFirst") is pleased to announce plans to restart
the second paper machine at its Kapuskasing Paper Mill. GreenFirst
has received over $1.2 million from
the Skills Development Fund of the Government of Ontario, Ministry of Labour, Training and
Skills Development to support the recruiting, hiring, and training
of more than 45 new employees.
On August 28, 2021, GreenFirst
acquired the Kapuskasing Paper Mill from Rayonier Advanced
Materials, which was only operating one paper machine at the time.
GreenFirst will begin to restart the second paper machine in May,
thereby increasing direct employment to almost 300 jobs in
Kapuskasing and surrounding areas,
these positions welcome youth, women and Indigenous applicants. The
restart will occur in multiple phases starting in May, with the
goal of full production (7 days - 24 hours operation) by
October 2022.
The funding from the Skills Development Fund will be used
towards the recruitment and training of new employees, along with
current employees, to receive the required skills to produce
quality paper and meet required production targets safely and
efficiently. GreenFirst has established partnerships with local
employment organizations and academic institutions, including the
Employment Service, College Boréal, Schools, Indigenous
communities, the Town of
Kapuskasing and surrounding municipalities to continue to
build and train our growing workforce in Kapuskasing, The Company has established a
solid training platform, which includes online training and a more
standardized delivery in support of the integration of all new
workers and the development of existing employees who will move to
more senior roles.
"The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in many challenges,
especially on the North American/Global newsprint markets. We are
very pleased to receive the SDF funding from the Ontario government, which will ultimately
allow for the creation of 45 new full-time positions with a focus
on hiring candidates with manufacturing aptitudes that will become
skilled trades or high-skilled operators," said Paul Rivett, Chairman of GreenFirst Forest
Products.
"We're working for workers and bringing well-paying
manufacturing jobs back to Northern
Ontario. I am proud to support this project, which delivers
millions of dollars to build a stronger community here in
Kapuskasing and provide over 100
people with the skills they need to earn bigger paycheques for
themselves and their families now, and for decades to come," said
Monte McNaughton, Minister of
Labour, Training and Skills Development.
"This is tremendous news for GreenFirst and the communities
around Kapuskasing, we thank
Minister McNaughton and the Government of Ontario for providing this opportunity," said
Rick Doman, CEO of GreenFirst. "The
Kapuskasing Paper Mill is a well-established paper operation that
we continue to invest in to become more productive, with a goal to
achieve more stable and sustainable employment. We would like to
thank our President Michel Lessard,
our Vice President of Operations West André Ouimette, our General
Manager Pascal Champoux, and the entire Kapuskasing team for their significant
contributions towards restarting the second paper
machine."
This Employment Ontario project is funded in part by the
Government of Ontario and the
Government of Canada.
About GreenFirst
GreenFirst Forest Products is a forest-first business, focused
on sustainable forest management and lumber production. The Company
owns 7 sawmills and 1 paper mill across Ontario and Quebec. GreenFirst is a significant lumber
producer in Canada having an
annual lumber production capacity of 905MMfbm, with a goal to
increase. GreenFirst's mills are located in rich wood baskets
proudly operating over 9.2 million hectares of FSC® certified
public and private Canadian forestlands (FSC®-C167905). The Company
believes that responsible forest practices, coupled with the
long-term green advantage of lumber, provide GreenFirst with
significant cyclical and secular advantages in building products.
GreenFirst's long-term vision is to be a leader in the global
forestry industry.
SOURCE GreenFirst Forest Products Inc.
