Resolute Forest Products Celebrates 200 Years Of Pioneering Excellence

Jun 22, 2020 - 6 years ago

Front Page Story: Resolute proudly marked its 200th anniversary in May.

Resolute began as a small business in 1820, exporting lumber to England under William Price and with time bought 20 sawmills along the banks of the St. Lawrence River in Quebec. Today, the company has grown into a global leader in the forest products industry with over 40 pulp, paper, tissue, wood products and energy facilities across North America.

“This is an extremely important milestone in our company’s history. We’ve successfully weathered two centuries marked by technological revolutions; two World Wars; the Great Depression of the 1930s; globalization; several pandemics, including cholera, the Spanish flu and now COVID-19; and changing economic and social conditions,” said Yves Laflamme, president and chief executive officer. “We’ve flourished because of the unwavering support of our employees, customers, investors, the communities in which we operate, as well as our partners in both the business world and Indigenous communities.”

For 200 years, Resolute and its predecessor companies have been transforming a renewable resource into products that consumers depend on in their daily lives. From the filter used to make their morning coffee to the lumber they buy to renovate their home – even the cucumbers in their lunchtime salad – all may contain a fair amount of Resolute.

“Resolute’s roots spread out across two centuries, over 20 predecessor companies, multiple countries and hundreds of communities,” said Bradley Martin, chairman of Resolute’s board of directors. “I am pleased that we continue to innovate and grow. Resolute is a sustainability champion, known globally for our strong forest management practices, industry-leading carbon reductions, transformative investments, and for our mutually beneficial business partnerships with nearly 40 Aboriginal communities. Our pioneering excellence continues as we forge new pathways with innovative green products and renewable energy options.”

A Truly Canadian History

Starting in 1820, in the midst of the Industrial Revolution, and over the following two centuries, the company grew from 20 sawmills along the banks of the St. Lawrence River in Quebec into a global leader in the forest products industry with over 40 pulp, paper, wood products, tissue and energy facilities across North America.

Honoured For Safety

On April 13, 2020, four Resolute mills – Baie-Comeau, Kénogami, Alma and Thunder Bay – finished at the top of Pulp & Paper Canada’s 2019 Safest Mills in Canada contest for their outstanding safety record. The Baie-Comeau and Kénogami (Quebec) paper mills placed first and second, respectively, in category C (less than 50,000 worker hours per month); the Alma (Quebec) paper mill placed first in category B (50,000 to 80,000 worker hours per month), and the Thunder Bay (Ontario) pulp and paper mill placed second in category A (more than 80,000 worker hours per month). In the event of ties, mills are ranked by the most to least total worker hours, placing Thunder Bay second despite a tie for first, and putting Baie-Comeau slightly ahead of Kénogami.

Pulp & Paper Canada has benchmarked mills according to their safety records in an annual ranking since 1926. The ranking is based on the total recordable incident rate in three categories – the lowest rate is the winner of that class for the year. The contest is open to pulp and paper mills located across Canada.

Fast Facts About Resolute

2019 sales of $2.9 billion

Some 40 facilities in the United States and Canada

5 business segments: market pulp, wood products, tissue, newsprint, specialty papers

Products marketed in close to 70 countries

13 pulp and paper mills*
- market pulp (5 mills): 1.4 million metric tons of capacity;
- newsprint (6 mills): 1.3 million metric tons of capacity*;
- specialty papers (4 mills): 0.9 million short tons of capacity (0.8 million metric tons
(Excluding Augusta (Georgia) and Thorold (Ontario) mills, indefinitely idled in 2019 and 2017, respectively.)

22 wood products facilities
- lumber (17 sawmills): 2.9 billion board feet of construction-grade lumber capacity;
-remanufactured wood (2 facilities): 82 million board feet of capacity
- engineered wood (2 facilities): 145 million linear feet of capacity;
- wood pellets (1 plant): 45,000 metric tons of capacity
Additionally, we operate 2 planer mills and 1 chip production facility.

3 tissue mills
- 128,000 short tons of capacity (116,000 metric tons);
- 4 tissue machines
- 10 converting lines

13 power generation assets: 7 hydroelectric dams; 6 cogeneration facilities; 440 megawatts of installed capacity

100% of managed forests third-party certified

7,500 employees

Resolute continues to innovate and evolve, exploring new opportunities such as innovative bioproducts and renewable energy technologies. They have built an enduring legacy of success as one of the most respected and sustainable forest products companies in the world. Congratulations on reaching this milestone, Resolute!

Source: Resolute Forest Products