Cab Nyt Burrard Initet 4, orth Shi ifr MU tin neediest t NEWS photos Mike Wakelicld STACKS OF aluminum bricks (right) wait to be loaded for export from the North Vancouver operations of Lynnterm. A new construc- tion shed (above, left) is currently being built to house a variety of forest products from B.C., Alberta, Washington State and Oregon. N. SHORE WATERFRONT INDUSTRIES arket fuels Export of forest products remains principal focus of old NV sawmill site Strong IN THIS instalment of a series profiling North Vancouver water- front companies, the North Shore News takes a look at the opera- tions of the Lynnterm forest pro- ducts terminal. By Surj Rattan News Reporter JOHN ELLIS slowly drives his car along the waterfront dock of the Lynnterm forest products terminal just west of the Second Narrows Bridge in North Van- couver District. Lumber and other forest pro- ducts are neatly stacked in piles all over. the dock. Two large freighters are tied up to the huge concrete facility and await loading for export to foreign markets. Several forklifts, operated by a team Of unionized longshoremen, - are busy transporting the wood ‘ products to waiting trucks and the two cargo ships. Lynnterm is a beehive of activi- ty. But Ellis says things were a lot different several years ago before Lynnterm was born. “This used to be an old sawmill dock when there were sawmills here. The principal focus has not changed: the export of forest pro- ducts,’’ said Ellis. He is the manager of sales and administration for Western Stevedoring Co. Ltd., the contrac- ‘tor hired by the Port of Van- couver to operate Lynnterm. The giant forest products ter- minal first came to Nerth Van- couver in 1977 and has gone through a series of expansions over the years. See RENEE, pore NEWS photo Mike Wakefield FOREST PRODUCYS are loaded onto trucks at the Lynnterm forest products terminal in North Vancouver. Woodpuip arrives by rail and Jumber mainly by truck. And while Ellis says the lumber market is depressed right now, Lynnterm continues to experience growth in its industry. A large part is due to a strong market in woodpulp. The terminal’s current expan- sion includes expanding its ex- isting berth face towards the west, and the construction of a new warehouse to hold forest pro- ducts. The warehouse, which will be the third such warehouse on the Lynnterm site, will be 215,000 square feet (19,974 sq. m) in area, bringing the total area of ail three forest product warehouses (o $50,000 square feet (51,095 sq. m). : Once completed, the berth will comprise 250 feet (76 m). In total, | Lynnterm’s berth dimension will expand to 3,000 feet (916 m), which will make it one of the largest forest product terminals in B.C. . Western Stevedoring, along with the Vancouver Port Corp., will spend $15 million on the berth expansion and the construction of the new warehouse, Ellis said that in 1989 Western Stevedoring and the Vancouver Port Corp. made a joint decision to become more heavily involved ansion in the woodpulp market. The decision has resulted in a major success for the North Van- couver terminal. Lynnterm was already doing business with the Celgar Pulp Co. based in the Kootenay town of Castlegar. Then, in 1990, Lynnterm managed to win over the business of Daishowa Marubeni Int., which operates the Peace River Pulp Mill in Alberta. After that came the business of the Whitecourt mill in Alberta and the Meadow Lake mill in Saskat- chewan. This summer, pulp products will arrive at Lynnterm from MC Forest Products from the com- pany’s new Alberta Pacific Pulp mill. Ellis said Lynnterm has actively sought out new business and ex- pects even more new customers when its berth expansion and third warehouse are completed. “The expansion is in response to the winning of two more con- tracts for the handling of wood- pulp,”’ said Ellis. “The majority of our woodpulp comes from Alberta, but we also get products from throughout B.C., Western Washington and Oregon, We get a lot of products from BC Rail, and we do quite a bit of specialty lumber."* Lynnterm's largest market is the Pacific Rim. North Vancouver-based . BC Rail plays a large part in helping Lynnterm export its cargo. “A large volume of our forest products arrive by rail. The truck traffic has decreased from what it, used to be, The woodpulp arrives by rail and the lumber, mainly by truck,"' said Ellis.