Hundreds of Employees Win With Provincial Support
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT--Hundreds of Employees Win With Provincial Support
More than 500 employees in the Strait area will benefit from a provincial investment in training and infrastructure.
The Nova Scotia government is committing up to $15 million in infrastructure and training support at Stora Enso, in conjunction with the $90-million thermomechanical pulp (TMP) plant expansion at the company's Port Hawkesbury newsprint mill.
Premier John Hamm and Economic Development Minister Cecil Clarke made the announcement today, March 18, at a groundbreaking ceremony for the new facility.
"As a government, we're keeping our word to create and protect jobs by investing in infrastructure and training," said Premier Hamm. "Hundreds of employees and their families, as well as the whole Strait area, will benefit from this latest commitment through our growth strategy."
The government's training contribution and infrastructure investment are conditional on an annual minimum of 210 full-time jobs in the newsprint operation and total full-time employment of 550 jobs at the Port Hawkesbury location.
"The province, Stora Enso's management, its workforce, suppliers, and others in the business community worked together for many months to win this expansion for the Strait area's largest employer," said Mr. Clarke. "Benefits will flow to the many citizens who work with the company and also into provincial revenues for essential services like health and education that benefit all Nova Scotians."
Up to $5 million of the province's investment is earmarked for training to use new technology, while up to $10 million is for infrastructure upgrades aimed at increasing exports of new and higher-value products.
"We very much appreciate the province's support for economic development," said Tor Suther, Port Hawkesbury mill president. "By investing in people through training and infrastructure, the province is creating a positive climate for industrial growth. The TMP expansion project is a cornerstone in the survival of the newsprint line. It will create greater operational efficiencies as well as employment opportunities requiring high-level skills and modern work practices."
Released in the fall of 2000, Opportunities for Prosperity became Nova Scotia's first economic growth strategy in a decade. Since the strategy's release, more than 18,000 jobs have been created.
Stora Enso Port Hawkesbury employs approximately 750 people. An additional 750 people work for contractors and suppliers in the harvesting and trucking of wood to the mill. In addition to the newsprint line, which produces 185,000 tonnes a year, the company also operates a modern 350,000-tonne-a-year supercalendered paper machine in Port Hawkesbury. It produces paper used primarily in catalogues and magazines.