McCain In Motion

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McCain Foods wants employees to become active. On June 17, the company launched its McCain in Motion program in Florenceville.

With approximately 300 people on hand to help celebrate the health and wellness program, McCain president and CEO Fred Schaeffer explained the three pillars to the initiative. It will help employees maintain a healthy and balanced diet, increase their physical activity, and quit smoking.

As a food producer, Schaeffer said, McCains has a duty to encourage a healthy lifestyle.

"It's hard to tell others that they need to be fit if you're not doing things to help you're own employees stay fit," he said.

The company will accomlish its goals with the help of a pair of experts in the field of healthy living.

John Stanton, president and founder of The Running Room – a running shoe and sportswear retailere – will cover the physical side of the equation. Stanton said the Running Room will host online clinics to educate interested employees on jogging approaches and help them get a routine started.

"Often people are either embarrassed or intimidated to start exercising with a large group," said Stanton. "The online clinic allows you to start in the privacy of your own home."

Rose Reisman, a nutrition expert and cookbook author, will show McCain employees the ropes of healthy eating.

Reisman will run a Web site, launched through McCain Foods, providing tips, recipes and unique meal ideas to employees. The Web site's recipes and menus will change monthly.

It will also show the science behind healthy eating.

"A lot of the Web site is about breaking down the meal, and talking about what components you should be looking for," said Reisman.

As part of its program, the McCain plant in Florenceville recently opened a new fitness centre last month for employees and their families.The company also sponsors pilates and yoga courses.

The McCain in Motion is already running in other countries.

Français: McCain Foods de Florenceville a lance un nouveau programme visant la santé et le bien-être de ses employés et leurs familles. McCain en Motion aidera les employés à maintenir une diète saine et équilibrée, augmenter leur activité physique et cesser de fumer.

Take a closer look

Woodstock campus refreshed, new and vibrant

By Angela Ferguson

The principal of the New Brunswick Community College (NBCC) in Woodstock is encouraging all past students and anyone who previously inquired about college courses to take a look at what's new.

Principal Bill Best said NBCC is evolving to meet the ever-changing demands of the educational buying public.

"We're growing, and, if you haven't checked us out recently, you would be surprised because 65 per cent of our programs are new, so you better take a look.

"Those programing changes have resulted in a strong influx of skilled trade and health (courses) which are ... reflective of the needs in society today."

The money potential students put into these courses is money invested into a successful future.

New courses since 2002:

Business Administration – Accounting

Bilingual Office Administration

Computer Service Technician

Digital Photography

Bricklaying

Carpentry

Electrical

Floor Installer

Human Services

Personal Support Worker

Practical Nurse

Courses offered before 2002 and still available:

Business Administration

Office Administration

Graphic Arts Production

Journalism

Landscape

Welding

Français: Le CCNB de Woodstock se transforme. Il offre des programmes d'apprentissage afin de rencontrer les besoins des employeurs. Le directeur de l'établissement, Bill Best, a déclaré que 65 pour cent des programmes sont nouveaux.

AV Nackawic receives provincial funds

One of New Brunswick's still-operating mills received government financial support to help upgrade its operations.

Premier Shawn Graham announced the province would provide AV Nackawic with a two-year, $10 million, no-interest, term loan to help it complete its conversion process to produce dissolving-grade pulp.

The conversion process, dubbed the Alpha Project, will see the mill begin producing dissolving-grade pulp, which is used in the manufacturing of rayon.

"This support is very much appreciated," said president and CEO PeterVinall. "It is a very significant investment. It is the difference between being able to do some of these critical things that will deliver us superior pulp. We think our business plan is very strong and still have the ability to pay this loan off without any challenges."

But not everyone shares the province's and the company's views.

Former St. Anne-Nackawic employees, who were left by the wayside during the mill's changeover, say the province is just bailing out a company who cares little about the community.

"What we are concerned about is the government is putting taxpayers' money into this company, who came in here and promised to put the former employees back to work," said Steven Hawkes.

He pointed out the project is running over budget

In October 2006, Vinall told the Bugle-Observer the project was expected to be online by January 2008 at a cost of $30 to $35 million.

Now, the Alpha project is behind schedule and carries a price tag nearly triple its original cost.

"To date, it is the range of $90 million," Vinall explained. "We are running about five months behind the original schedule. There were many challenges – weather-related, design-related and complexity."

Français: Le gouvernement provincial a fourni un prêt de 10 $ millions à AV Nackawic afin de venir en aide au moulin pour compléter les travaux de transformation pour dissoudre la pâte. Celle-ci est utilisée pour fabriquer le rayon et non le papier.

Province invests more mill money

The provincial government has announced a more than $34-million investment in Fraser Papers' pulp and saw mill operations.

Natural Resources Minister Donald Arseneault said the investment will bring much-needed upgrades to the firm's Plaster Rock saw mill and Edmundston pulp mill.

The minister said the new investment will not target the Juniper mill, which was shut down last fall as a result of unstable market conditions.

The Plaster Rock saw mill also suspended operations. It restarted several weeks ago to mill raw logs left in inventory, but the remaining stock would keep it running for just two to three weeks, said Terry Noble, general manager of wood procurement.

Arseneault would not disclose the date the saw mill is expected to resume full operations after the upgrades are installed, saying it will survive over the long term.

"They can't continue to operate both facilities and that's why you're seeing this situation now," said Arseneault. "They have to pool their resources, so they can run an efficient sawmill and get the best value for their money."

The upgrades, including repairs to the mill's boiler and turbine, will be done during a scheduled shutdown in September.

Français: La province investit dans les moulins en difficulté de Fraser Paper Inc. de Plaster Rock et Edmundston. Le moulin de Fraser situé à Juniper, qui a fermé ses portes l'automne dernier, ne figurera pas au sein de cet investissement.

Pellet plant awaits rezoning

A Southampton businessman is anxiously awaiting proper zoning to allow his company to begin construction of a wood pellet plant in Nackawic.

Malcolm Fox, president of York Energy Inc., said the plant is currently in the planning stages, with rezoning a key element in that process.

Originally, he said, the company hoped to have the plant "up and running" before winter. Because of the "three-to-four" month rezoning process, he acknowledged, those plans are probably dashed.

Nackawic council has taken the first steps in the long process required to rezone one of the two lots located near Wilson's gas bar. One of the lots is already zoned industrial, but the second must be rezoned from highway commercial.

In his request to council, Fox also asked the town to remove an existing road Right of Way through the two lots.

Nackawic's planning advisory committee reported it did not object to the rezoning "depending on the resolution of Right of Way through the lot."

Français: Un homme d'affaires de Southampton attend patiemment pour que sa demande de rezonage soit approuvée visant la construction d'une usine de granules de bois dans la communauté.

Axe to star in beer ad

If it could talk the World's Largest Axe would soon happily proclaim, "I am Canadian."

This summer, Nackawic's giant landmark will not only welcome visitors to the forestry town, it will star in a popular beer ad.

In a letter to Mayor Rowena Simpson, Amir Remtulla, Molson Canada's director of government and public affairs Ontario and Atlantic Canada, announced Nackawic's famous axe will be featured in the brewery's summer promotional plan for Canada's famous beer, Molson Canadian.

In his letter, Remtulla said the ad campaign will reference several Canadian monuments across this great land.

"So ..." he wrote, "don't be surprised if you see a new Molson Canadian commercial on television this summer that features your World's Largest Axe in Nackawic."

Français: La plus grosse hache du monde, située à Nackawic, sera parmi les repères célèbres du Canada à faire partie d'une nouvelle promotion de bière Molson Canadian.

Asapco Foods assets up for sale

A receiver appointed by the Bank of Montreal is selling the assets of Asapco Foods after the Woodstock food processing firm closed its doors earlier this year.

The company, employing 55 people at its peak, with distribution networks across Canada and New England, faced insurmountable financial difficulties, sources say.

Chief creditor Bank of Montreal appointed George Kinsman, of Ernst and Young in Halifax, as receiver last May. Days later, Asapco president Peter Strong and his wife Kathaleen declared bankruptcy, with combined liabilities of roughly $4.7 million and assets of $106,500.

The company owes the provincial government more than $1 million, and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency roughly $750,000, in outstanding loans.

Asapco was established in 1996 to process fully-cooked frozen vegetables, using an advanced cooking method that retained the product's natural flavor without the use of additives or preservatives.

The company, initially a division of the multi-generation family-owned Strong Farms, merged with the parent company in the spring of 2007, but retained its name.

Asapco recorded 75 per cent sales growth every year between 1998 and 2004, according to a federal government profile of the company. Its distribution network, posted on its Web site, included Atlantic Canada, Ontario, Alberta and New England. The company's main customers included restaurants and regional grocery retailers.

Français: Le transformateur de nourriture Asapco Foods de Woodstock a déclaré faillite. Les actifs de l'usine, qui comptait 55 employés à un certain moment, seront vendus par l'administrateur, la Banque de Montréal.