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Catalyst takes temporary downtime at Powell River

Catalyst Paper will temporarily curtail production on  one of three paper machines at its Powell River mill, removing capacity for 6,500 tonnes of specialty paper grades from the market. Catalyst says the temporary downtime reflects its…

Catalyst Paper will temporarily curtail production on  one of three paper machines at its Powell River mill, removing capacity for 6,500 tonnes of specialty paper grades from the market. Catalyst says the temporary downtime reflects its strategy to match production with domestic market demand and inventory.

The Powell River No. 9 paper machine will be idled on October 31 for three weeks. Additional downtime may be taken later in the quarter based on market demands.

Catalyst is working closely with employees to balance labour and production time to mitigate the potential for seasonal layoffs.

“We continue our focus of matching production to customer orders,” said Joe Nemeth, president and CEO. He noted the curtailment is not expected to impact existing customer orders.

Catalyst Paper manufactures diverse specialty mechanical printing papers, newsprint and pulp. It owns three mills in British Columbia, with a combined annual production capacity of 1.5 million tonnes.