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Cascades modernizes four folding carton plants, closes Lachute

Cascades Inc. has announced a $22-million investment for four of its Norampac division facilities involved in the folding carton and microlithographic segments.

Cascades Inc. has announced a $22-million investment for four of its Norampac division facilities involved in the folding carton and microlithographic segments.

Cascades, a manufacturer of green packaging and tissue products, says it will invest monies to purchase new equipment to optimize production and efficiency at its Viau, Que., Mississauga and Cobourg, Ont., and Winnipeg, Man., plants.

The new equipment includes two new state-of-the-art printing presses in the Viau and Mississauga plants, including one capable of printing in up to seven colors and utilizing an ultraviolet drying process.

The Winnipeg plant will get a new gluer and Cobourg will see new forming equipment.

“These investments are in line with Cascades’ strategy that aims to modernize and improve the profitability of our packaging assets,” says Norampac president and chief executive officer Marc-André Dépin. “This is our Group’s most important investment in the folding cartons sector in several years.”

With the announcement, Cascades said it will shutter its folding carton plant in Lachute, Que. by the end of Q1, 2013, noting that other Norampac facilities will work with its customers. The company says that about 40% of its 155 employees at the Lachute plant are being offered positions at other Norampac and Cascades plants in the province.

States Dépin: “The folding carton market in Canada continues to be key to our strategy in the packaging sector. This market benefits from stable growth that closely matches that of the consumer market for food products sheltering it from the negative cycles that affect industrial products. Cascades occupies an enviable position in the folding carton market in Canada and these investments will allow us to consolidate and improve upon this position in the coming years.”