On February 19, 1998, the “Mandarin Moon” loaded with 15 900 tonnes of wood pellets sailed out of Prince Rupert, British Columbia (BC), Canada, and arrived at Helsingborg Energi’s (now Öresundkraft) combined heat and power (CHP) plant in Helsingborg, Sweden on April 6, 1998. Laying the foundation for the growth of the global industrial pellet industry, this milestone bilateral trade achievement was recognized during the Nordic Pellet Conference in Gothenburg, Sweden.
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That the growth of the global industrial wood pellet industry can be pinned down to a few milestone moments and a handful of pioneering people, is almost a well-kept secret.
One of those moments was the world’s first transatlantic shipment of pellets from western Canada to Sweden’s west coast which took place just twenty-five years ago.
John Swaan, the Canadian counterparty who at the time was with Pacific BioEnergy Corporation, a pellet producer he co-founded in 1994, recounted in vivid detail to conference delegates the background to the pellet supply contract with Helsingborg Energi, along with his dealings with Swedish research institutes, and universities in pushing the boundaries of uncharted territories in order to execute the shipment.
Worth US$1.67 million back then, arguably it is the successful outcome of that specific million-dollar wood pellet trade deal that gave birth to the multi-billion industrial wood pellet industry of today.
It is a trade achievement that the Trade Commission of the Embassy of Canada in Sweden was also involved in, providing key on-the-ground contact support and assistance in the ante internet and mobile phone era.
Marking the occasion, Maria Stenberg, Trade Commissioner at Canadian Embassy the Embassy of Canada, presented a notably moved John Swaan with a “Trade Achievement Acknowledgement” in recognition of his “pioneering trade achievement.”
