ATIKOKAN, Ont. -- A major investment from a California-based company will help make wood pellet production in the Northwest a reality.
Atikokan Renewable Fuels announced that it is selling its facility to a company with the financial resources to carry out the plan.
Officials with Rentech plan to invest more than $70 million into the former Fibretech facility, along with a former strandboard mill in Wawa.
Atikokan Renewable Fuels President Ed Fukushima has been working for years to produce pellets in Atikokan and on the Whitesand reserve near Armstrong.
Students from Whitesand have recently been working in Atikokan, prepping the building for new equipment.
Fukushima says they'll be working with Rentech to get the plants in production by the end of the year, supplying pellets to the Atikokan generating station and overseas as well.
The Atikokan pellet plant will employ up to 45 people, and will produce over 120-thousand tonnes of wood pellets annually.
(Thunder Bay Television)
