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How come the Fort Frances kraft mill? What economic and technological considerations
guided O-M in it's decision to invest $45 milion in this facility? What's
the background for this immense expansion?
The Ontario-Minnesota Pulp and Paper Company Ltd. sudied the feasibility
of a new Kraft mill for a number of years. the O-M at Fort Frances and Kenora,
and the sister company's operations at International Falls, operate a total
of nine paper machines with an average daily production of 1700 tons of
paper.
These paper machines aren't new but some have been rebuilt over the past
few years and others will be modernized and speeded up as market conditions
and capital funds permit. This means a continued ans expanding demand for
wood pulp to make paper.
Paper grades made in these mills use much groundwood or mechanical pulp
produced by presing logs against rapidly rotating grindstones in the presence
of water. Fort strength and light color, most of this groundwood pulp must
be made from spruce and balsam fir, although some popularspecies and a little
jackpine are used. Groundwood pulp must be mixed with with chemical pulp
to provide the necessary strength in the finished paper.
Historiclly, the Kenora mill has produced its own chemical pulp by the sulfite
process, and still does. The International Falls mill has made chemical
pulp by both the sulfite abd kraft process for its own use and Fort Frances
--- and in turn recieved groundwood pulp produced in Fort Frances.
In April, 1967, the Falls sulfite mill was closed down, mainly because of
water polution problems, Since that time, the chemical pulp production of
the three mills as not been enough to supply the demand of the paper machines.
Market pulp has been purchased outside the Company.
A second factor has been the under-utilization of jackpine in the area.
The sulfite process used in Kenora cannot make chemical pulp from jackpine
because of color and pitch problems, and it's use in groundwood pulp is
limited for the same reasons. The International Falls kraft pulp mill does
use much jackpine, but this is an old mill, cramped for space and difficult
to expand. The necessity to by-pass jackpine tends to increase the cost
of harvesting other wood species and creates undesirable changes in the
composition of the forest.
These factors led the O-M in 1967 to make a feasability study for a new
Kraft pulp mill in theborder area. Requested by J. G. Crump, O-M general
manager, the study was conducted by the central enginering dept. in International
Falls under the description of E. O. Wood. The study was completed in June
1967, and showed that such a project would probably be successful.
During the remainder of 1967 and in 1968 the report was evaluated by corporate
officials and various alternatives and modifications studied in some detail.
By the end of 1968, Fort Frances was established as the preferred location
and the best pulp mill size to match wood supply and paper mill needs was
determined to be 400-500 tons per day.
John del Valle, O-M president, made the decision in early 1969 o proceed
with detailed enginerring for the project. Since Boise Cascade's central
engineerig dept. was involved at the time with construction of the DeRider,
La., mill ane expansion of the St, Helen's Ore., pulp mill, a four-man
task force was chosen to pick and engineering consultant and to represent
O-M developing the region.
Jack Haase of the Wallula, Wash., plant (now Fort Frances mill manager);
R. E. Shinn, also from Wallula; E. O. Wood, Central Engineering and W. A
Krask, Pulp and Paper Research, both of International Falls, were selected
as the four-man team.
This group toured the newest Canadian bleached kraft mills in April-May
1969 to observe the latest trends in design, and also evaluated a number
of consulting engineering firms. H. A. Simons inernational (1967) Ltd. of
Vancouver, B.C. was selected to do the detailed engineering the O-M task
force then moved to Vancouver, in June 1969, and set up working quarters
in the H. A. Simons offices for best efficiency and closest cooperation
with the engineers.
The process design and site layouts were promptly developed to the poitn
where a detailed budget could be prepared. This was submitted to managment
and aproved in September 1969. Purchasing of major then began and structural
design was expectied to permit the start of construction in the spring of
1970. Dale Neuman of the Portland, Ore., office joined the group during
this period to handle financial and accounting details.
First activity on the Fort Frances site was a soil-testing program in December
of 1969. Results indicated that all major buildings and equipment would
require piling support because of the clay sub-soil. Accordingly, a contract
for the piling was awared to McGraw-McDonald of Winnipeg and work commenced
on the site in February 1970.
The major civil and structural contract was awarded to Commonwealth Construction
Co. Ltd.,whose crews arrived on site in April 1970. Work was rushed on all
major structures in order to have them closed in before winter
In midsummer 1970, B. A. Martz, former Kenora plant engineer who had supervised
construction of DeRidder mill, arrived in Fort Frances to assume the same
responsibilty on this project.
As the design load tapered off and the cnstruction tempo quickend, the task
force moved to the site. Buildings were enclosed before he weather became
too severe and in late October 1970 the major mechanical-electrical contractor,
Comstock International Construction, began operations. The work crews had
built up steadily as the job progressed. Occupancy of the construction camp
on the grounds reached a peak of 277 in June 1971. Hundreds of others found
lodging elsewhere in Fort Frances and at International Falls. Peak employment
was 656 men.
By midsummer 1971, the civil contract was essentially complete except for
repairs and final site grading and Commonwealth Construction moved off the
site. As the end of the job neared, all contractors cut down on work crews
and in early October dimantling of the construction camp began.
With the start-up approaching, a cross-Canada search was made in the spring
of this year to find experienced personel to operate the new mill. This
program was directed by Gerry Hutchinson, who joined Boise Cascade in 1969
and had been at the St. Helens, Ore., and Newcastle, N.B., before coming
to Fort Frances as general superintendant, kraft. At the same time, employees
in existig operations at Fort Frances were interviewed for jobs in the new
mill and selection of the crew proceeded.
The four shift supervisors, Rob Easterly, Doug Gadsden, Don Kosterow and
Bill Sinclair, came on the job in June and played a leading part in the
development of training manuals and in operator training, Basic instruction
for men with no previous kraft experience, selected from Fort Frances mill
was given in August. Specialized training for all operations at the new
woodroom came in August and the steam plant started up in September. First
trial runs of the pulping facilities went the week of November 7, the entire
mill was in operation. eration.
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