McKinley spokeswoman Cathy Price said Friday that the company is on track to retool the factory to process recycled corrugated cardboard into manufactured containerboard by December 2018.
She said McKinley has yet to select vendors to supply new equipment. "We have a general idea of what equipment is going in," said Price. "Nothing is cast in stone yet."
McKinley knows what's needed, but market forces are holding things up, she said. "The cost of OCC (old corrugated cardboard) is very high. I believe we are waiting for that to come down some to begin startup plans."
Meanwhile, City Manager Dan McKeen said Friday that the mill's extended shutdown will cost the City of Port Angeles at least $315,000 in utility taxes in 2017, and $440,000 in 2018...In other words, other than purchasing the mill itself, nothing has happened with the old Nippon place. And so much nothing is continuing to happen that McKinley is asking that they not have to monitor their wastewater discharges so often. (They want to go from three times a week to just one.)
Notice all the qualifiers in the official statements coming out: They haven't even selected vendors to supply equipment yet..."Nothing is cast in stone yet"...Market forces, which are beyond McKinley's control, are holding things up...And most significantly, all these elements mean they haven't even begun to make startup plans. So clearly, a lot can happen to delay or derail this Cardboard Castle dream.
In fact, the only concrete fact to emerge from all this (would-be) change and (could-be-maybe) future retooling is that the City of Port Angeles is taking another hit to their always shaky budget. Now, you could argue that, because the City has such a track record of spending money foolishly, that this constricting of funds is a good thing, wasting money-wise. But, in reality, it just means that a distressed city will only get more distressed. The debt's still crushing, and the infrastructure's still crumbling. And still, for too many people, all their hopes and dreams are wrapped up in a Cardboard Castle that hasn't even come close to being built yet.
Another (proposed) scenic addition to the Port Angeles waterfront!
There's still plenty of time for the city to screw this up, or the company to screw them over.
ReplyDeleteThis is Port Angeles, the home of broken promises. Let's not count those eggs, or jobs, until they're hatched.
This just looks worse and worse!
ReplyDeleteLook at the upward trend on those prices for their raw materials. If they're waiting for them to come down, they may be waiting for a long, long time. Would any other growing or successful business adopt this as a model? Would Starbucks hold off on opening new coffee shops until the price of coffee beans came down to some hypothetical, unstated ideal?
Meanwhile, if they're also waiting to even start looking for the equipment they'd need to start up, well, that pushes things out further and further as well. Surely equipment on this scale isn't just an order-and-install job that gets done with a week or two of notice. Surely these things require some lead time. But while they're burning through that lead time waiting, the prices for OCC could go up again.
None of these pieces make sense, or fit together into anything other than what looks like another PA stall-and-fall operation. Someone, somewhere will make some money, but it probably won't have much of an effect locally. This smells like just another scam of some sort.
used cardboard, like logs, is shipped to China. Of course, China is going to pay more for cardboard than a North American company would -- it's cheaper for them to do it that way, and this is all about cheap cheap cheap cheap.
DeleteBecause our shoreline wasn't quite ugly enough with the Turd Tank and logyard. More trucks and huge bales of soggy cardboard ought to be just the thing to finish the job.
ReplyDeleteAnd, we know there are so many local sources for recycled cardboard.
ReplyDeleteBuilding lumber and pulp and paper mills in regions with lots of trees made a lot of sense. Until the cost of labor and living was no longer competitive with the emerging economies of China, India, Indonesia and so on.
But Port Angeles is remote, and does not have any local sources.
Ya wanna bet China, India and Indonesia have lots of recycled cardboard, have the industrial infrastructure in place, and loads of "cheap labor"?
So, everything for McKinley to work has to be shipped in, processed, and shipped out before they make a dime. You could say most all industries have to have their materials shipped in, processed, and shipped out before they can make money. Look at the logs we ship to China, for example.
Look how few people are actually involved in cutting and loading the trees, with today's machines. No swarthy men in plaid with chainsaws these days, but a huge machine that cuts and stacks. A relatively few truck drivers. Half million dollar log handling machines at the port that are paid for by the Port of Port Angeles. Yes, the taxpayer.
How much taxpayer money will be provided to McKinley? Shades of Pen Ply?
There are sound economic reasons why Nippon shut down, along with so many other mills in North America. They cannot compete with the mills in China, India and Indonesia.
But, Port Angeles is *special*, and the realities that govern other places don't apply here. All that Pixie Dust.
Let's look at the long term pattern here, shall we?
ReplyDeleteRayonier dumps their pollutants, then dumps the town entirely. They leave behind a giant eyesore of a tank, dumped on our waterfront. The city then buys that dumped tank, in order to store our dumps in when the sewage system is overburdened. This crappy deal is portrayed as a "win" for the city!
After allowing people to dump their garbage on and off of a bluff for year after year, the city also pitched its stupid waste of millions of dollars to temporarily deal with that problem as progress, as another "win" for Port Angeles.
Another supposed "win" as the composite recycling scam. At the end of the day, we're now paying for the "privilege" of having Boeing dump their toxic scraps on us. We see how well that little project is going.
Now we're supposed to see another "win" with used cardboard being dumped on us.
Our leaders would have us think we're "winning" with all this. All I see is a small, remote town that is, more and more, being used as a toilet bowl, a dumping ground.
You've heard the phrase "down in the dumps"? Remind you of anyplace in particular?
You should move. Today!
DeleteYes, EVERYONE should move because, A) They say these cardboard plants are REALLY stinky, and, of course, B) Because life is too short to live in (Cursed) Port Angeles.
DeleteWhy in the HELL would there be a 33% increase between 2017, and 2018? Is that how much our utility rates are going to rise next year?
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, why does NO ONE ask what kind of air scrubber equipment is going to be required for this potentially stinky enterprise?
I'm willing to bet that McKinley (aka BioPapel) is going to walk and leave the hulk abandoned at the start of 2018.
I agree things are not going to go well. And we already see that McKinley doesn't have much faith or hope in this project working out, as we see the bumper sticker approach to signage for their "new acquisition", waiting to invest in machinery, etc. Even they are so unsure as to not put any money into it that they don't have to.
DeleteBUT, let's not count out the grant scam opportunity this whole thing presents for the well positioned people. Isn't that what this town is really all about?
A recent rants on the Olympic Pen craiglist turned up... (https://olympic.craigslist.org/rnr/d/strongarm-robbery/6299844847.html)
Delete"Rant to the local aluminum boat company who can't even pay it's employees (owed 3 paychecks), steals from their employees 401k and charges them for healthcare but cancels their insurance without any warning! Meanwhile, the CEO/idiot in charge galavants around local bars pretending like he's some hotshot wolf of wallstreet perving on girls half his age! We have families to feed you prick!"
Seems, another company who has largely given up on PA (in favor of a southern plant) was given a grant by the State of WA (March 27, 2017) "The Washington State Department of Commerce has awarded a $123,000 Governor’s Work Start grant to develop customized curriculum and train certified aluminum welders to support business expansion and new jobs at Armstrong Marine Inc. (AMI) in Port Angeles. AMI recently won a $38 million government contract to build state-of-the-art maintenance barges for the U.S. Navy." (source: http://www.commerce.wa.gov/tag/armstrong-marine/)
So, they get a grant, get a whopping contract. Meanwhile, they've set up a facility (much larger than the one in PA) in Swansboro, NC, and now they aren't paying their workers in Port Angeles, WA.
And, this isn't criminal? It isn't even written up in the PDN?
Of course not.
Welcome to Crooked Clallam County.
CK, you're right about the City's budget. But!
ReplyDeleteLook at what McKinley is saying. And doing. Or more importantly, NOT doing.
EVERYTHING you quote them saying is, as you said, qualified. They themselves are all but outright saying they will not invest any more into this pig unless the price of their base resource goes down. That they will not spend any more on the mill unless they know their operation can be profitable.
Ummmm. Why did Nippon stop doing what they have been doing at that very same mill?
Are we to believe that Port Angeles presents an economic opportunity to McKinley, that could not work for the established Nippon folks?
Anybody care to try to point out what that "McKinley Opportunity" might be?
Let's see...Nippon got their new biomess facility built and largely paid for with our tax dollars...Got to spend years dumping their toxins in the water, and those will be soaked up with tax dollars as well...Got a new industrial waterline put in and paid for by our tax dollars...And are able to sell all those tax payer-funded items, along with their tax payer-funded transferable water rights...Oh, and they got their FREE MONEY from the National Park Service, too...So, yeah, it sure does look like that big capitalist company Nippon ran through all the honest capitalist ways of making money, didn't they? You know, good old "Free (because tax payers are footing the bills) Enterprise" in action.
DeleteYes, the grant whores always like to present themselves as great "business leaders" and capitalists, when they are really petty socialists, looking for another handout.
DeleteIf these people had to actually EARN an honest dollar, 4 out of 5 of them would starve to death. They're just like Trump, dishonest to the core. Trump presents himself as a big business success story, but his first move as a "businessman" was to borrow millions from his rich daddy. Needless to say, you're hardly a great American bootstrap success story when your daddy bought you the damned boots.
Oh, and gosh...As I went to sign out another stupid, illiterate, homophobic comment came in from the impotent troll, directed at me. Oh gosh. Oh my. I am just ever so upset I will cease and desist this blog right now!
ReplyDelete...
...
...
NOT.
Not that the troll has anything to say any rational person could care about, AND, I know it is beyond their mental abilities to understand anything but their own stupid bullshit, BUT.. the rest of thinking people can easily see that the company ITSELF.. McKinley, does hold much hope in doing anything in Port Angeles.
DeleteSo, the moron can continue to rant away, but everyone else can see the obvious. The troll is a moron, and McKinley doesn't see much hope in Port Angeles.
People who engage in homophobic insults are probably fearing the gay feelings inside themselves. It's also a handy way to avoid having to debate the actual issues here, which show a clear trend of not favoring right wing zealotry as being a productive course of action. BOTH are manifestations of avoidance, which isn't far removed from cowardice. If these guys would just man up, embrace their gay side, embrace facts, then life would doubtlessly be much happier for them. At the very least, then they wouldn't have to spend their time trolling.
DeleteObviously, there was a typo I didn't catch.
DeleteThis sentence was supposed to read " BUT.. the rest of thinking people can easily see that the company ITSELF.. McKinley, does not hold much hope in doing anything in Port Angeles."
Worry "not," because I think we could all see that there was a word missing...
DeleteMr. Everything needs to go back on his meds. Or come out of the closet. Trolling is so sad.
DeleteLook for the EDC to soon get involved in a big way. Green Crow is rapidly moving to a sub-20 year timber rotation. The EDC types are pressuring the DNR to follow suit, with some success. Teenage trees are good for one thing and one thing only: PULP. As the Olympic Peninsula becomes one big pulp plantation, pulpwood will become a much cheaper source of raw material than recycled cardboard. And Green Crow will desperately need a market. Also consider that one person made millions off the closed cogen plant: longtime EDC bastion Bill Hermann.
ReplyDeleteDecember 2018? Who believes that?
ReplyDeleteOK, just this once. Yes, there is a threat to reduce rotation age below (too young) 35. rayonier already does it. It absolutely requires a LOCAL PULP buyer. A pulp mill establishes the base price for all wood. It can beat 0r derail any other market. Now, jobs are jobs. I'm against that shortcut, which is something of an "abomination" even for foresters. However- they had plenty of high quality pulp, not to mention very high quality "trimmings" when we had old growth hemlock. The "trim" is what produced the best window frames, door trim and other tight old growth ring count material. Worth thousands per thousand BF. Well, that's gone and now they want "composite wood". Whats that? Shredded, laminated and glued bits from very young trees. It may work but is it better? You can bet that it will require very few people to produce it and where will the mill be?
ReplyDeleteProcessing cardboard- this is a Kraft process- will stink to high heaven. You will get your daily sulfur requirement. Redone cardboard- amazon boxes - may be a possibility but my bet is this is also a placeholder and will serve to tie up the water right until needed by somebody. Think about it. Its a big water right. Look up Hirst. Running City water east of Morse has been talked about for years. Just a guess.
Now really. What more do people need to see? A couple big multi-national corporations do the math, and see their future in Port Angeles is either not happening, (as in Nippon) or so sketchy and unlikely that they are holding back investing any more money into Port Angeles (McKinley).
ReplyDeleteIt isn't like this is anything new. Port Angeles has been limping along in slow decline for years. Look around. The former Bank of America building, smack dad in the heart of down town, is still empty after so many years. The Petite Oil building on Marine Drive is closed, for sale, and empty. The restaurant at the boat launch closed, has been for sale, and sits empty. The Haggens building, on a prime retail/commercial location, sits empty. The PUD building, Bushwackers, and countless other "prime" locations have been for sakle for years, as well. And are still empty. The Landing, on the waterfront of down town is all but empty.
When are people going to wake up, and see the reality of what is going on?
And the civic leadership is all hot to build MORE retail/commercial space in the form of the "Arts Center" on Oak Street, with so much inventory already sitting empty for years?
How much "empty" does this town need?
What the HELL is going on here?!?!
We all just turn our eyes away, and ignore what is really going on.
DeleteAnother GREAT day in Port Angeles.
Here is a presentation on OCC by analysts in the industry:
ReplyDeletehttps://events.risiinfo.com/icc/sites/default/files/presentations/2016/Zhao%20Presentation_0.pdf
Doesn't look good for McKinley, in Port Angeles.
OMG! This is just outrageous!
DeleteReading through this info, anyone can see the US is not a big player in this. Like, near the bottom of most all the graphs.
And, we see China is setting the price for OCC. They basically control and dominate the market, and the price for OCC.
Once again, Port Angeles is on the fringes of some unstable market for some commodity few are interested in. With some bottom-of-the-barrel company trying to make something out of a place none of the prime players wanted anything to do with.
Look it up. I did. McKinley and BioPapel don't even make the list of "recommended companies" within the industry.