Vancouver, BC — Catalyst Paper has announced that Elk Falls PM1, which had been curtailed in September due to the …
Vancouver, BC — Catalyst Paper has announced that Elk Falls PM1, which had been curtailed in September due to the strike-related fibre shortage, will remain down for the first quarter of 2008. The mill at Campbell River continues to be affected by the lingering effects of the coastal fibre strike and the deteriorating US lumber market.
“Based on current fibre availability, it will take a few months yet to rebuild and stabilize our fibre inventories,” said Richard Garneau, president and CEO. “Forty-two per cent of our supply was affected by the coastal strike, and we have worked hard to optimize our fibre supply in order to limit the production capacity impact to 14% to date.
In addition to the curtailment of PM1, much of the Elk Falls mill will take down time through the Christmas period, impacting some 600 employees. The kraft and containerboard operations will take 18 days of curtailment from December 16, 2007 to Jan. 2, 2008. Fibre availability will dictate whether additional downtime is required in the first quarter. PM2 and PM5 will be curtailed beginning December 23, 2007. PM2 is expected to restart on January 2 and PM5 is expected to restart on January 6, 2008.
In total, Catalyst expects to lose 100,000 tonnes of production in the fourth quarter, mostly in newsprint, and 30% in pulp and containerboard.
Print this page
