Skip to content

February: Chinese textile company buys Neucel pulp mill

The North Island Historical Society began looking for a home for its 100-year old Hornsby crawler steam tractor.
4606porthardyN-PM-standoff-3-jr-06
Police respond to a call of an armed man in Port McNeill. J.R. Rardon photo

The North Island Historical Society began looking for a home for its 100-year old Hornsby crawler steam tractor. The crawler, still housed in Surrey, was constructed in England and shipped to Canada in 1910. It’s the only steam version of the crawler ever built. About 25 years ago it was rescued from the bush and moved to the Seven Hills Golf Course where it remained on display for 20 years before being loaned to an Alberta heavy equipment exhibition in 2005.

• An armed 32-year old Port McNeill man,  who held off RCMP for more than nine hours, was charged with several offenses, including multiple break and enter charges, assault with a weapon, possession of a weapon dangerous to the public peace, pointing a firearm, uttering threats and robbery.

•  A Chinese textile company celebrated Chinese New Year with a new acquisition: the Neucel Specialty Cellulose pulp mill.

Fulida Group Holdings Ltd (Fulida)  has purchased Neucel from a consortium of investors led by Wellspring Capital Management.  Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

• Hobby farmers were warned to lock up their livestock after three goats and 20 chickens were taken from one property by a cougar in the Hyde Creek area.

• A strong voice for the North Island was silenced when former North Island Gazette editor Peter Paterson died in his sleep Feb. 12 at the age of 80.

• The last week of February was one of the snowiest and coldest in 50 years and set at least two new records on the North Island. According to Environment Canada data, 12.8 cm of snow fell at Port Hardy airport Feb. 27.

That’s just a little more than the record snowfall back in 1955 at 12.7 cm.

And on Feb. 25, the mercury dipped to -8.1C on the North Island, breaking a record of -7.2C set in 1957.

All told about 27 cm of snow fell at the Port Hardy airport in February, which is more than double the norm for the region.