Biodiesel entrepreneur buys Mattawa sawmill.

AuthorRoss, Ian

A shuttered former Tembec sawmill in Mattawa has been sold to a southern Ontario green-tech startup company.

The Mattawa-Bonfield Economic Development Corporation (MBEDC) announced that the BioNorth Technology Group led by Frank Benincasa, a former construction executive who's dived into the biodiesel sector, acquired the 187-acre mill property in August.

"It's a very experienced team that's multi-faceted in different industries including engineering and business management," said economic development director Jeff McGirr, who announced the news at the Canadian Bioenergy Association's annual conference in Thunder Bay, Sept. 10.

An MBEDC press release stated BioN-orth plans to establish a "range of related businesses" on the property and develop partnerships with other companies and organizations for an "integrated symbiotic approach."

McGirr was reluctant to get into detail on the company's vision for the property, the timelines involved, or how the development will come together since there are a number of moving parts involved.

"There isn't much I can say publicly at this point. We're being pretty careful not to make any large commitments about exactly what will happen. There are a number of different components that are in the works right now"

Talks are underway with other companies and more news will be forthcoming this fall, he said.

Whether or not Benincasa has a bio-diesel refinery in mind, his company needs a minimum of 50,000 cubic metres of fibre annually, said McGirr, particularly softwood.

The fibre allotment from area forest management units that was once attached to the Tembec mill was redistributed to other users through the province's Crown wood competition.

"However, it's our priority to create jobs and to see that allocation returned to the community," which was one of the reasons behind attending the Can-Bio conference, featuring a who's who of public and private sector players in the...

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