Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, 20 December 2011 -- Ledcor Resources and Transportation has invested CAD 70 million to launch a marine transportation service to Howe Sound Pulp and Paper. The company has also acquired a producer of wood chips and hog fuel located in the interior region of British Columbia.

The acquisition of Renew Resources and 12 new barges represents an investment of CAD 70 million for Ledcor, making it the only company of its kind to provide all of the related supply chain services from fiber sourcing and harvesting to the processing and delivery of that fiber to end users.

Paul McElligott, former president and CEO of TimberWest, recently joined Ledcor to head up the company's resources and transportation division. "This was a very deliberate, strategic decision that Ledcor made to further diversify into the resource and transportation sectors in our province," said McElligott. "We have positioned ourselves to be the only company that has the capacity to meet all of our customer's needs. This type of vertical integration creates efficiencies in the supply chain."

Mac Palmiere, Howe Sound Pulp and Paper president and CEO, noted that Renew Resources has played an important role in Howe Sound becoming a significant renewable clean power generator and that the mill's relationship with Ledcor Resources and Transportation is vitally important in helping secure jobs.

McElligott said Ledcor Resources and Transportation is creating opportunities to use and create value from marginal wood fiber that would have otherwise been slash burned or left on the forest floor. "Instead of doing nothing about a waste disposal problem that compromises our environment, we are producing woodchips and hog fuel for pulp and paper making and green energy production."

The Ledcor Group of Companies is a British columbia-based, employee-owned conglomerate that operates across North America.