©Drax
The closure of a Williams Lake wood pellet plant “blindsided” the city, according to Mayor Surinderpal Rathor. The shut down is being attributed to a combination of external market and supply chain pressures, making operations at the location “no longer commercially viable” according to comments from Caroline Bleay, communications manager for Drax in Canada. The Drax-owned wood pellet plant…announced the planned closure of the Williams Lake facility to staff and the public on Nov. 26, impacting 30 direct employees and a number of contractors. Rathor said the city had reached out to the company after hearing rumours of a potential closure, but hadn’t gotten a response. The city supported Atlantic Power’s Williams Lake Biomass Plant to secure viable contracts after they announce a possible closure…. Rathor said the city would have worked to try and help Drax as well had they been in the know.
- Drax Press Release: Drax Ceasing Operations at its Williams Lake Plant
- In CBC News, by Akshay Kulkarni: Local officials decry job losses as Williams Lake, B.C., pellet plant is set to shut down