Tembec Permanently Shuts Idled Pine Falls Newsprint Mill

Tembec yesterday announced the permanent closure of its idled newsprint mill located in Pine Falls, Manitoba, Canada.

About 230 employees will be affected by the closure.

The mill had been indefinitely idled due to a labor dispute on September 1, 2009.

In a written statement, Tembec said, "After examining a full range of options, the company initiated a sales process for the mill in early January 2010. This sales process has proved unsuccessful. After a thorough analysis of the situation, the Company concluded that the permanent closure of the facility was the only viable option.

"Although not an easy decision to make, the structural decline of the newsprint market and the cost structure of the mill prompted such a decision," said Chris Black, Tembec's executive vice president and president, Paper Group.

"The company intends to act in a manner that will ensure that employees receive their severance pay in accordance with the collective agreement," Black added.

The Pine Falls mill has the capacity to produce about 185,000 tpy of newsprint.

SOURCE: Tembec

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