The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

DAYTON - Executives of Columbia Pulp say they are accepting resumes from candidates for senior administrative and management positions at the new straw pulp plant that will soon begin construction near Lyons Ferry. The Company's CEO John Begley said that about 30 salaried positions will be filled in the first quarter of 2015.

"We have already received at least 30 resumes," he said.

Begley said that a human resources consultant, Jennifer Johnson, has been contracted by Columbia Pulp to handle initial recruitment of personnel. She is accepting resumes for salaried positions now, and the company will begin reviewing them in January.

Columbia Pulp has already filled a handful of senior positions, including the plant operations manager, technical director and senior scientist.

The firm will begin recruiting for 100 or more hourly operations positions beginning in January. Those positions will be filled, and training will begin, in the second quarter of next year, Begley said.

For hourly operations employees, the firm will post openings through WorkSource Walla Walla. Those postings should begin going up early next year, according to Begley, with hiring to begin in March or April. (See box on Page 6 for more information on Columbia Pulp's recruiting process.)

During a wide-ranging interview last week, Begley told The Times that Columbia Pulp hopes to have approximately 135 employees hired and in training by June next year. The current plan is for construction of the new facility to be completed and the plant operational by October 2015.

"We will handle training at an off-site location," Begley said. "The plan is to complete that process by the end of next summer."

From the start, the company plans to run the new pulp processing facility 24 hours a day, seven days a week. "We'll operate 350 days a year," Begley said. "We'll shut down one day a month for maintenance."

Many of the hourly positions at Columbia Pulp will involve materials handling, including forklift operators to unload trucks and move materials. Other hourly employees will operate the automated equipment for processing straw pulp. Approximately 20 - 25 employees are expected to be working during each individual shift.

Begley said that Columbia Pulp has nearly completed the permitting process for the new plant, and that he hopes to break ground in November. The company has hired a general contractor for the project: Pacific Civil and Infrastructure of Federal Way, Wash. Construction cost for the project is expected to be about $35 million. The company has acquired about 450 acres of land in northern Columbia County, at an estimated cost of approximately $600,000.

According to Begley, Columbia Pulp has completed acquisition of necessary water rights for the plant and is nearing completion of financing needed to fund the operation.

Columbia Pulp plans to purchase approximately 220,000 tons of wheat and alfalfa straw per year from farmers in southeast Washington and Northeast Oregon. Begley said that straw storage will be available on-site to supply a month's worth of the plant's operating needs. The company will lease storage sites for another month's worth of straw. Columbia Pulp will work with local farmers to handle additional straw storage.

Begley said the company plans to employ dedicated straw buyers to work with farmers to ensure a steady flow of raw materials. The company also expects to contract with farmers and other private truckers to haul straw to the site.

ANATOMY OF A PULP PLANT

Project summary

Columbia Pulp will process straw from eastern Washington farmers into valuable products: pulp for papermaking and lignin/sugars for petrochemical replacements.

The company's innovative business model converts agricultural waste into high-quality, sustainable and competitively priced supply chain solutions.

Columbia Pulp will eliminate thousands of tons of air emissions, impact logging and forest usage and reduce petrochemical demand through the sale of byproducts.

Market and Sales Strategy

Pulp - Columbia Pulp will sell unbleached and semibleached pulp into the five-million ton Pacific Northwest market, primarily as a replacement for hardwood pulp. Its straw pulp is a unique product with a number of competitive advantages. Sugars - The company is evaluating several options to create a value-added revenue stream from this byproduct. Readily available markets that have been identified include animal feed enhancement and refining into mixed glycols. Lignin - Lignin is sold as a petrochemical replacement for end uses such as soil enhancements, energy generation and as a "green" replacement for petrochemical phenolics.

Annual Economic Impact (projected)

Payroll $10,200,000 (135 jobs)