750 Contractors on Site for $13.5 Million Scheduled Maintenance Shut at Irving Pulp & Paper

SAINT JOHN, NB, May 5, 2014 /CNW/ - Over 750 contracted workers, most from over 30 companies that operate in New Brunswick, are on the job at Irving Pulp & Paper and Irving Tissue in west Saint John.  These workers are in addition to the team of 340 people that work at the Irving Pulp & Paper mill.  Before the $450 million modernization project gets into full gear the company is completing its regularly scheduled maintenance shut which occurs every 18 months.  The $13.5 million project involves upgrades to virtually every area of the mill but the big jobs include boiler inspection and repairs; the startup of new washing equipment and a new control system.

The work which began on April 28 will be completed on May 8^th and involves numerous trades including boilermakers, millwrights, welders, pipefitters, electricians, instrumentation specialists, as well as bricklayers. 

"We appreciate the skill and experience of these local contractors and tradespeople who are crucial to sustaining the pulp in Saint John," said Mark Mosher Vice President of Pulp and Paper Operations for J.D. Irving, Limited.  "This maintenance shut is vital to maintaining a safe, efficient and reliable mill but is also improtant for the impact on many other businesses and communities in New Brunswick in terms of the jobs and spin-offs this work brings.  These contractors are part of a supply chain that includes 1700 businesses throughout NB that provide goods and services to our forest products operations."
 
"Large industrial plants like the pulp mill here in Saint John are the bread and butter of companies like ours and many others working on the pulp mill site this week," said Howard Constable, Lorneville Mechanical.  "We have 227 employees on site this week and our sister company Master Mechanical has already received work employing 80 people as the big modernization project gets underway at the pulp mill.  Lorneville Mechanical has grown its business and jobs because of the forest products industry here in New Brunswick.  We have brought workers home from the west because of jobs like this."  

In the meantime, preliminary work – including pile driving, site preparation and foundation work  - has begun as part of the $450 million modernization announced on March 13^th, 2014.

SOURCE: J.D. Irving, Limited

Mary Keith, [phone], [email protected]