Squamish Terminals Ltd., Tembec Inc., Canfor Pulp Limited Partnership (CPLP), West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (WFT) and Daishowa Marubeni International Ltd. have reached an agreement in principle on measures that will result in improvement s in supply chain efficiencies for the export of wood pulp from B.C. pulp mills to markets worldwide. Squamish Terminals is located on Howe Sound, just 32 nautical miles north of Vancouver, and is open to all major break-bulk shipping lines. Squamish Terminals is a wholly owned subsidiary of Grieg Star Shipping AS.
Under the agreement, CN will provide seven-day-a-week service to Squamish Terminals, which in turn will guarantee to unload pulp cars daily. Tembec, West Fraser , CPLP and Daishowa-Marubeni will work with both CN and Squamish Terminals to manage inbound traffic flows to match export vessel schedules.
Vee Kachroo, CN vice-president, Industrial Products, said: "I am pleased that we have reached an agreement to optimize the flow of wood pulp exports to markets worldwide through Squamish Terminals, one of the largest pulp handling terminals on the North American West Coast. All the stakeholders in this supply chain will benefit from increased efficiencies and throughput and stand ready to increase their share of growing wood-pulp markets worldwide."
Ron Anderson, chief executive officer of Squamish Terminals, said: "This agreement will allow us to better plan our transshipment of export pulp from rail to ocean-going vessel, including handling equipment and staffing required to operate the terminal. A more efficient supply chain will further enhance our service level to our customers and generate important productivity gains."
"Seven-day-a-week unloading at the terminal will help to reduce potential issues in the supply chain and will support our efforts to ensure customers receive more consistent supplies," said Marc Leblanc, logistics manager of Tembec. "Such increased supply chain efficiencies are consistent with Tembec’s goal of achieving maximum reliability of product delivery and superior service for our customers. This will be key to capturing increased market share for our product."
Rick Pingel, general manager, Global Logistics -- CPLP said: "This agreement will add greater transparency and accountability to the supply chain and will position all partners to achieve continuous process improvements in the years ahead. Reliable service will help us to grow our Asian markets for wood pulp."
