Innovative Natural Resource Solutions, LLC — Department of Agriculture SBIR Phase I: 8.6

Description

INRS and MDP will collaborate to build an analytical model that demonstrates the probability of success - and opportunities for enhancement - for the redevelopment of idled industrial assets. This model will be developed and refined using the former pulp and paper mill in Old Town, ME., and data supplied by multiple redevelopment efforts elsewhere in the State of Maine. Based upon learnings and experience garnered from this site, the base model will then be positioned for use elsewhere in Maine, the Northeast, and the entire United States as a tool to evaluate opportunities for mill and factory development. Once constructed and tested, the INRS/MDP team plan to make this model the core offering of a consulting service.The Mill Development ModelTo assess the success of developing an idle industrial asset for the utilization of forest resources, each of the following variables need to be assessed:Fiber Balance & EconomyEnergy Balance & EconomyCapital Equipment & Physical AssetsStaffing & OperationsCapital Costs & Financial BalanceCompany ConstructsThe concept of this model was created to break down the larger problem of mill development into more manageable challenges that could be defined, modeled, and then networked back into the larger mill redevelopment challenge to inform a decision. Each of these respective modules are a system of equations that are expressed in an auto-solving Excel spreadsheet which either solve an optimization problem, constraint problem, or are defined variables that are informed by a mill site's physical characteristics, local economy, and the needs of the owner/tenants.