Columbia Pulp reopening

STARBUCK — Columbia Pulp began the re-start process of its wheat straw pulp mill in Lyons Ferry, on June 1.

The facility began to introduce wheat straw into the system on June 1 after the prolonged COVID-19 shutdown in April 2020.

The Mill is processing with running 20 tons of wheat straw per day, slowly increasing tonnage to 50, then 75 finally up to the full capacity of 100 tons per day over the next year with planned shutdowns for maintenance and cleaning.

Columbia Pulp has taken advantage to modify and improve processes during the prolonged shutdown and initial period of operations in 2019-20.

"This is a substantial step for Columbia Pulp and we are excited about these developments," said Kyler Lovgren, plant manager. "Once at full operation, the plant will employ close to 100 full-time employees."

Columbia Pulp's offices are in Dayton. The company operates a state-of-the-art industrial scale mill in Lyons Ferry. The facility converts wheat straw into pulp and biopolymers, used in the manufacture of sustainable, tree-free paper and packing products, as well as numerous specialty chemical applications.