STRENGTH · Export Alberta · Manufacturing / forestry products
Alberta Newsprint Company is investing nearly $50 million to modernize its Whitecourt mill — Alberta’s only newsprint facility — so it can produce multiple paper grades and higher-value products, per Meridian Source. The provincial government is contributing over $1.5 million through its Investment and Growth Fund. The project creates 13 permanent jobs, 25 construction jobs, and retains more than 220 existing positions.
What it means: This is the diversification playbook in action: rather than riding a declining single-commodity market, an established producer is retooling toward products with more customers and better margins. For manufacturers weighing similar moves, the $30-of-private-investment-per-public-dollar leverage in this deal shows provincial co-funding is available for credible diversification plans.
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