The establishment of a bio-refinery in the Pontiac is still an opition for Fiber Pontiac
The establishment of a bio-refinery in the Pontiac is still an opition for Fiber Pontiac
During a long conversation with the president of Fiber Pontiac, Pierre Vézina indicated that the project to welcome the American bio-refinery company Renmatix in the industrial park in Litchfield was still on the table.
The Pontiac is currently in competition with the states of Maine and New York, in hopes of attracting the company, which creates various natural products from Wood Fibers.
Link to Renmatix concerning its method
To convince the company to establish its bio-refinery in the Pontiac, Pierre Vézina believes that they will need incentives. He also mentioned that the government of Quebec, via Investissement Québec, has already indicated a financial contribution but that, for the moment, Fiber Pontiac is also trying to obtain an equivalent support from the federal government.
The President of Renmatix, Mike Hamilton, visited the site in Litchfield in September 2019. Then, he had told the MRC Pontiac’s Plenary Committee that he would like to make a decision in 2020, to determine the location of the bio-refinery. In the event that Renmatix decides to establishment in the Pontiac, according to Vezina, around 35 direct jobs could be created along with nearly 100 indirect jobs. However, though Fiber Pontiac’s strategy is based on hosting Renmatix, it is not limiting itself to the possibility of other companies joining forces. Pierre Vézina mentioned that Forespect, a sawmill located in Namur in the Outaouais region, which uses more recent technologies to maximize the recovery of harvested wood, is one of the interested partners.
According to information obtained by CHIP 101.9, the company would already be interested by the concentration and woodworking yard in the industrial park in Litchfield, which could see the development of a project in the coming weeks.
Fiber Pontiac is a non-profit organization created in 2013 by the MRC Pontiac mandated with developing the conditions for the creation of a wood fiber industry on the territory of the MRC Pontiac.
The full 30 minute interview with Pierre Vezina is available here.
