MissionIR's  Instablog

Mercer International announced that it has established a C$1 million partnership with the University of British Columbia's (UBC) Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering and the Pulp and Paper Centre, both in the Faculty of Applied Science. This partnership has been forged to create an industrial research chair in advanced forest bio-products engineering.

Mercer has made a five-year commitment to support this new research chair at UBC, indicative of the company's belief in the future of the forest products industry, as well as the opportunities and resulting potential value available to the industry in the emerging bio-economy. Mercer is committed to being a world leader in sustainable forest practices, including maximizing the value of forest resources through sound forestry management and investing in research and development to generate tomorrow's transformative technologies. The partnership with UBC is an extension of Mercer's desire to be at the forefront of the industry's transformation.

The selected chairholder at UBC will be appointed in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering. The chairholder will work closely with the Pulp and Paper Centre, focusing specifically on establishing the scientific and engineering breakthroughs that are needed to create commercially viable opportunities to sustainably convert forest fiber resources into new bio-products.

Mercer is focused on continually striving for world-class performance, as well as implementing new technologies to improve social, environmental, and economic sustainability. This is a driving force behind the company's support of the advanced forest bio-products engineering research chair at UBC.

Mercer International operates three NBSK pulp mills with a consolidated annual production capacity of around 1.5 million tonnes. For more information, visit the company's Web site at www.mercerint.com

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