Construction Begins on Columbia Pulp Plant

DAYTON – Excavation began in earnest this week at the site of Columbia Pulp's new straw pulp plant, about five miles west of Starbuck.

Crews from Pacific Civil and Infrastructure, the general contractor for the new plant, moved equipment onto the site on Monday and began moving dirt.

Nearly four years after Columbia Pulp first announced plans for its new plant, funding finally closed on Aug. 9, on both the equity and bond financing for the project.

The Washington Economic Development Finance Authority provided an offering of $133,600,000 in tax exempt bonds for the project. These bonds were offered by Goldman, Sachs & Co., of New York.

Columbia Ventures Corporation is the lead investor in the $36 million equity portion of the financing for the project, which closed simultaneously with the bond offering. CVC is a private equity family firm in Vancouver, Wash.

The proceeds of the bonds and new equity are funding the construction and operation of the $184 million mill that converts wheat straw and seed alfalfa straw into pulp, utilizing a proprietary process developed by Sustainable Fibers Technology, LLC. The pulp can be used in the manufacture of sustainable, tree-free paper and packaging products.

The new mill is being constructed on a 449-acre site near the Lyons Ferry Bridge west of Starbuck. It is expected to be fully operational in late 2018.

Plans are for the mill to produce 149,000 tons per year of market pulp and 95,000 tons per year of a carbohydrate-lignin co-product. When fully operational, the plant is expected to provide 90 full-time jobs.

"We have assembled a talented team that has spent their careers in pulp and paper production and financial management," said Columbia Pulp CEO John Begley in a press release last month. "The SFT proprietary pulping process is the first in North America that produces market pulp equal to the quality of hardwood pulp, while requiring less capital investment and utilizing less energy, water and chemicals compared to traditional pulping methods.

"By capturing straw that is often burned as waste and using it in the manufacture of tree-free products, Columbia Pulp is bringing sustainable industry to rural Washington while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and the demand for trees in pulp production," Begley added.

Plans for the new pulp mill were originally announced in December 2013. Original plans were for construction to begin the following year and for the plant to be operational in late 2015. However, repeated delays in securing financing held up the project for nearly three years.

Columbia Pulp opened an office in downtown Dayton in 2014, and the firm obtained a conditional use permit for the project from Columbia County in May of that year.

Begley and other company official have worked persistently since then to round up equity investors for the project, and to secure bond financing to complete the funding. Despite delays due to bond market movements and other problems, their continued efforts paid off last week.

The general contractor on the project, Pacific Civil and Infrastructure, is headquartered in Federal Way, Wash. They have many years' experience in projects ranging from industrial plants to pipelines to highways and bridges.

"Columbia Pulp would like to thank WEDFA, its Board of Directors and the community leaders of Columbia County for their support in preparing this project for financing," Begley said in the release. "We are excited to make our home in Columbia County and bring much needed economic development to this part of our State."