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Fortress Global closes Thurso pulp mill, board resigns [UPDATED]

Fortress Global Enterprises has laid off the remaining 73 staff at its dissolving pulp mill in Thurso, Quebec after announcing Dec. 10 that it has failed to secure a buyer for the company.

On Dec. 13, the company released a statement saying it had filed a restructuring application with the Superior Court of Quebec.

All of the members of the board of directors except for president and CEO Giovanni Iadeluca and CFO Kurt Loewen have resigned, effective immediately. Iadeluca and Loewen will stay on to assist Deloitte as it monitors the restructuring.

The CBC reports that as a result of the pulp mill closure, hardwood flooring company Lauzon Planchers de bois exclusifs is shuttering its nearby sawmill, costing 113 jobs. The sawmill supplied wood chips to the Fortress plant, but had already stopped its own logging operations in October after Fortress temporarily closed and laid off 250 of its workers.

David Lauzon, the sawmill’s CEO, tells the CBC his mill plans to find an alternate fibre source and reopen in the next few months.

Read the CBC’s full story.