In the heart of Canada’s Rocky Mountains, Baymag’s operations have a worldwide impact. The company extracts pure magnesite near Radium, British Columbia, and processes it into magnesium oxide (MgO) at their plant 200 kilometres away in Exshaw, Alberta. The result is premium-quality MgO, essential to industries that provide food, power, shelter and clean water.

About 45 years ago, Baymag moved to its standalone facility in Exshaw, expanding in stages to become the state‑of‑the‑art operation it is today. The location was initially chosen to take advantage of Alberta’s unique offerings: proximity to a leading oil and gas sector, availability of trained professionals in the Bow Valley, and access to strong utility infrastructure. Today, Baymag is capitalizing on another made-in-Alberta opportunity: ERA’s Strategic Energy Management for Industry program.

“Our operations are surrounded by the beauty of the Rockies,” explained Christine Rogan, Business Project Manager at Baymag. “We really value this environment and take care of it. This is where our employees and key stakeholders live, work, and play.”

Baymag is receiving over $600,000 in funding from SEMI for several capital retrofit projects at the Exshaw facility. Due to the nature of their fine-grained particle products, the company uses pneumatic conveying systems that rely on compressed air. However, this process is a large source of electrical consumption for the company. With investment from SEMI, Baymag is undertaking two large projects to considerably reduce the facility’s compressed air.

“We already have a state-of-the-art plant, but optimization projects like these available through SEMI will help Baymag to continuously improve our operations, reduce our environmental footprint, and enable us to remain competitive with premium quality ‘Made in Canada’ products,” said Jim Bachmann, Vice President of Operations at Baymag.

 Another SEMI project involves adding variable frequency drives (VFDs) to the large process fans used within the plant. The VFDs will allow equipment to run at lower power consumption rates depending upon the production capacity needed at each moment. With these innovative technologies, Baymag hopes to reduce energy consumption by 5 per cent.

Quick Facts

• Baymag is Canada’s sole manufacturer of magnesium oxide (MgO), based on one of the purest magnesium carbonate deposits in the world, located near Radium, B.C., and utilizing state-of-the-art processing operations at the plant site in Exshaw, Alberta.
• ERA’s SEMI program provides industrial and manufacturing facilities with funding support, expertise, and training in energy management.
• SEMI is a $70 million program, with funding provided by the Government of Alberta and Natural Resources Canada (NRCan). It is designed to help the province’s industrial and manufacturing sectors increase competitiveness, improve energy efficiency, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.