April
27, 2010, Portage-du-Fort, QC – Trebio will be the first company to set up operations on the site of the
former Smurfit-Stone pulp mill in the Outaouais community of
Portage-du-Fort,
Quebec. The Canadian government is making an investment
of $3.5 million in the form of a repayable contribution for the start-up of the
enterprise. Added to this funding is a $500,000 repayable contribution
from SADC Pontiac, which is the Community Futures Development Corporation serving the
area, as well as a $9 million loan from the government of Quebec. The project will necessitate an overall investment of $19 million.
Trebio
will specialize in manufacturing wood pellets to supply the residential,
commercial, industrial, and institutional markets in Canada, the United States,
and Europe. The plant will have a production capacity of 130,000 tonnes/year.
SSPM
Pontiac, a subsidiary of Green Investment Group Inc., purchased the
Smurfit-Stone plant in Portage-du-Fort last February and hired local workers to
clean, repair, and redevelop the site for the eventual establishment of firms
like Trebio. SSPM Pontiac will invest some $15 million in the first phase of
the project, which involves developing an industrial park to house companies
that will further the economic diversification of the Pontiac area.
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