Mercer Peace River Celebrates Completion of Fibre Procurement Project

PEACE RIVER, AB, April 20, 2023 – Mercer Peace River (MPR) is thrilled to announce the completion of the Fibre Procurement Project. This exciting milestone was celebrated with a ribbon cutting in front of the newly revitalized woodroom at the MPR site with dignitaries in attendance. This exciting project, officially announced in 2021, has transformed MPR’s fibre procurement process, improved our environmental performance, created a more sustainable business model and created several long-term career opportunities. The Fibre Procurement Project had two priorities: the first priority was revitalizing the woodroom by building a brand new debarker and wood chipper. The second priority was the establishment of Peace River Transport.

The new woodroom features one of the largest debarkers in the world together with a state-of-the-art wood chipping facility. This new facility has changed MPR’s hardwood fibre procurement process and will bring MPR’s use of diesel wood chippers on aspen trees in the forest to an end. Hardwood logs will now be cut to length and transported to the mill on larger, more efficient 10-axle Peace River Transport trucks. The logs will be processed through the debarker and wood chipper, which are equipped with some of the most innovative debarking, chipping, and monitoring technologies.

This new way of processing hardwood improves MPR’s environmental performance substantially. By 2050, through this investment, MPR is projected to have reduced fossil fuel emissions by over 900,000 tonnes of CO2e and sequestered 2.6 million tonnes of CO2e through forest conservation. Further, the onsite processing is powered by the green energy generated onsite.

MPR is proud to have completed this significant milestone that will truly transform the hardwood procurement process. MPR would like to thank all team members and contractors for their hard work to make this dream a reality.

About Us

Mercer Peace River (MPR) is a subsidiary of the group Mercer International Inc., a diversified global producer of forest products, bioproducts and green electricity with operations in Germany, Canada, the United States and Australia. At Mercer Peace River, we manage approximately 2.7 million hectares of forest, which supplies the majority of our annual fibre requirements. Located in the boreal forest region of northern Alberta, Mercer Peace River produces both high-quality softwood and hardwood pulp. We are proud of our efforts toward fully utilizing all our biomass materials and sustainable forest management practices. For further information, please visit www.mercerint.com.

Contact

For more information, please contact:

Jody Bekevich
Communications and Community Relations Coordinator
780-624-7221
jody.bekevich@mercerint.com