Mercer Celgar

Contact Mercer Celgar

MERCER CELGAR LIMITED PARTNERSHIP

+1 250 365 7211

info.mcc@mercerint.com

+1 250 365 4211

1921 Arrow Lakes Road
Castlegar, BC
V1N 3H9
Canada

Our Roots: The Mercer Celgar Story

Built in 1961, Mercer Celgar (MC) was the first pulp and paper mill in the interior of British Columbia. Since then, our mill has been a major employer and cornerstone of Castlegar and the West Kootenay region in Canada. Strategically located within one of British Columbia’s most valuable fibre baskets, Mercer Celgar’s close proximity to the BC coast facilitates sales to Asia where the majority of our pulp is sold.

Having undergone an $850 million rebuild in 1993 to become a high-quality, continuous process kraft pulp mill with modern power generation and environmental treatment facilities, our operations are designed to meet the highest degree of environmental protection for the land, water and air as we rise to meet and exceed the challenge of climate change. Since then, with Mercer’s acquisition in February 2005, MC has undergone several projects allowing for additional process efficiencies to further increase annual production:

Project Blue Goose, 2007 – a $24 million capital project improving operation efficiencies, increased production, and improved environmental performance.
Green Energy Project, 2010 – a $61 million program that installed a second-turbine generator to increase the installed generating capacity from 48 MW to 100 MW, as well as upgraded the bark boiler and steam facilities.
In 2019, we improved production by debottlenecking the pulp packaging line, as well as built a turpentine extraction plant to generate sales and reduce chemical costs.

These projects have helped to make Mercer Celgar a leader in the global pulp industry. The mill produces approximately 500,000 tonnes of Northern Bleached Softwood Kraft pulp, enough eco-certified green energy to supply our own needs plus up to an additional 20,000 homes and 250,000 litres of turpentine annually, making it one of the main employers and economic generators for the region.

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Recent News

February 27, 2023

Mercer Celgar’s Emergency Response Team – the 2023 Annual...

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January 17, 2023

Mercer International Inc. announces downtime at its Celgar mill

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Our Focus is Our People

The history of the Celgar mill is the history of the talent, ingenuity and resilience of people in our community. We work every day to be the employer of choice for our region and take pride in working together alongside our local union to provide interesting, rewarding careers. Mercer Celgar currently employs approximately 430 team members, creating opportunities by expanding skills training partnerships, apprenticeships, and working with community partners to attract talented, skilled workers to join the Mercer Celgar team.

Each of our team members has access to the innovative Whole Health Workplace Solution – created using ergonomics and physiotherapy – that has been in place for over 10 years. Through proactive health interventions and training by our onsite physiotherapist, our members have realized an increase in job performance, morale, and overall quality of life. We focus on the health of our members as much as we focus on the health of our environment.

Our team members are considered some of the best in their fields. We employ hundreds of lifelong team members who reflect the diversity of our organization and offer an abundance of knowledge about our operations.

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Mercer Celgar in the Community

At Mercer Celgar, we make more than just pulp. We are also working hard to help build a more sustainable and positive economic future for Castlegar, our surrounding communities and the families that live within them. Through a variety of partnerships and ongoing participation across the region, we seek to build the foundation for economic and social wellbeing for all by remaining committed to working collaboratively with industry, community, and government leaders.

Mercer Celgar and our team members donate regularly to causes within the community. These causes include community enhancement projects, non-profit associations and charities, as well as sports and community events. Scholarships totalling $4,500 annually are also awarded to qualifying, local high school graduates. Some of our more significant sponsorships include the construction of the Celgar Pavilion at Millennium Park, the Celgar Drive-in, the drop-in launching ramp at the bike skills park, and the activity bus for Stanley Humphries Senior Secondary School.

Mercer Celgar also initiated the local BE SEEN pedestrian safety campaign. In 2017 and 2018, together with the support of other local businesses, Mercer Celgar provided 5,000+ reusable reflective armbands to community residents, with 1 of the 5,000 being given to every student in our local Castlegar schools and the rest distributed amongst the remaining community members. In the years since, we have continued our efforts with help from our team members who hand out a total of 500+ armbands to ‘trick or treaters’ on one of the most dangerous nights of the year, Halloween night.