With almost 20 years of service to Northern Pulp Corp., Nova Scotia, Bruce Chapman has been appointed the company’s new general manager. "It’s going to be a challenging job," Chapman told TheNews newspaper in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, Canada, this past week. 

After joining operations as a process engineer in August 1996, Chapman has held the positions of assistant engineer, fiber line team leader, utilities team leader, operations manager, and, recently acting GM. He believes that his experience throughout the mill will be an asset as he oversees the day-to-day operations at Northern Pulp.

"It helps when you know the people," he said. "We have some really hard-working people here. So it’s about building a team that will tackle the challenges of running a mill." He fills a position left vacant after the retirement of Don Breen this past spring.

Chapman holds a B.Sc., chemical engineering, degree from the University of New Brunswick and his M.Sc., materials engineering, from the University of Illinois. Prior to joining the Pictou mill in 1996, his previous experience was at Stone Container Canada, Bathurst Division, in process engineering, quality control, and as pulping superintendent.

He noted that he’d be working hard to raise the profile of the mill in the community. "We can’t live in the past; so first, we have to kick-start our communications, both internal and external. Our future is not a gift, it’s an achievement, which means we all must work together for success."

He admitted the mill has some "serious environmental issues" they’re addressing, and that balancing the economy and the environment remains an ongoing priority. "I would say our number-one challenge is the environment. We’ve been disappointed with our performance but we’re not discouraged."

When asked if he had plans to meet with any community groups, Chapman said he looks to the open houses held in at the deCoste Centre and Pictou County Wellness Centre as a step in the right direction. "We intend to meet with all citizens to share our vision. It’s a complicated business and it takes quite a conversation to understand all we do."

Paper Excellence Canada CEO Pedro Chang noted that Chapman knows the operation very well. "On behalf of all of us at Paper Excellence Canada, we congratulate Bruce on his promotion and wish him success as he takes on his new responsibilities," Chang said. 

Northern Pulp produces and exports northern bleached softwood kraft (NBSK) pulp that is used in a variety of products used by consumers throughout the world on a daily basis, such as tissue, newspapers, and writing paper. It carries out forestry activities on more than one million acres of timberland in Nova Scotia.