(by Newsdesk)
Up to 300 sets of coveralls a day. Thirty minutes in the washer, 48 minutes in the dryer, another 30 minutes to fold and bag every load.
That’s been the story of Sherri and Vic Coulthard’s life since April 19 when Howe Sound Pulp and Paper shut down for maintenance and started delivering garbage bags full of wet and dirty work wear to Washtub Laundromat on Gibsons Way. The two of them have been working until 1 am just to keep up with the volume. Their usual part-time staffer is relieving them by coming in at 7 am.
They’re grateful for the work, no question, but every day is a mystery as to how much will come in. “Some of the maintenance guys will go through three or four pairs of coveralls in a shift, but we never know in advance.”
They are geared up to stay until midnight if necessary. Sherri says they’ve also had a major uptick in regular “drop and fold” business with the out-of-towners dropping off their regular laundry as well.
This maintenance shutdown isn’t just great for the Laundromat. A quick check of local hotels, campsites and B & Bs on TripAdvisor shows virtually no availability between Langdale and Pender Harbour.
Dennis Shui, manager of the Gibsons Garden Inn, says the maintenance shutdown and attendant influx of workers is a regular thing although the dates are not always predictable. “As you know, they need all the rooms in Gibsons, Sechelt and even further,” he says. “This is always good for hotel, restaurant, grocery and ‘liquid’ stores and doesn’t impact tourism too much because it’s not quite tourism season yet.”
The mill has an on-site camp which accommodates 300, and on-site kitchens to feed those workers as well as anyone on overtime. Accommodations for the rest of the crews are arranged by a team which also coordinates with other mills in the province to ensure the shutdown crews are available to all the operations that need them as there are only a few contractor firms which are qualified, and certified by the construction unions, to perform this type of work.
HSPP general manager for fibre and energy Fred Fominoff says the annual shutdown is a huge undertaking. This year the mill will be in maintenance mode for 14 days. During that time the 330 regular employees are working as much overtime as they want. They are supplemented by 850 outside welders, millwrights, boilermakers, pipefitters, scaffolders, and non-destructive testing technicians, among others. Some have come from Saskatchewan and Manitoba due to the demand for trades.
The main reason for the shutdown is to perform maintenance on the pressure vessels in which the mill both manufactures and consumes steam.
“Since the shutdown and start-up is measured in days rather than hours, we use the opportunity to work on other equipment that can only be done when the mill is shut down and empty of pulp,” Fominoff says. “It’s all hands on deck with the 850 outside workers as well as all of our own employees on overtime. It’s a fully engaged workforce.”
The maintenance work is being done round the clock in 12-hour shifts and is costing millions of dollars. Fominoff wouldn’t give specific numbers.