A new overseas investment is coming to Prince George’s Pacific BioEnergy plant.
Japanese corporation Sumitomo has aquired a 48% stake in PEBC, the second-largest manufacturer of wood pellets in Canada.
Minister of Forests Doug Donaldson was in attendance to tour the facility in PG and met with both PBEC Chairman Don Steele and Sumitomo’s Katsunori Takamitsu.
The PG manufacturer will start distributing material to the Japanese buyer, which is the largest importer of biomass fuel in its region.
Steele says this partnership could help the job market in Northern B.C.
“We have some ideas on some expansion on what we have right now. We have a chipping operation and licenses down in the Quesnel region that could take the proverbial lemon and turn it into lemonade.”
Pacific BioEnergy employs 55 people at its facility in Prince George and generates another 50 indirect jobs, produces about 550,000 tonnes of industrial wood pellets annually.
Back in 2016, B.C. exported $319 million in wood pellets worldwide.
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