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Starts / Stops /Changes

Domtar Corp. will idle its Dryden, Ont., pulp making facility for approximately ten weeks, effective April 25, in response to continued weak global demand.

The temporary shutdown at Terrace Bay Pulp in Ontario may go on longer than the original six-week period, considering that the mill’s owner, Buchanan Forest Products, filed for court protection from its creditors. With about $80 million in debt, the mill hopes the protection period will give it enough time to restructure its finances and keep operating.

Montreal-based Tembec Inc. will be shutting its Kapuskasing, Ont., operations beginning April 9 for a minimum of four weeks due to the challenging market conditions for both newsprint and lumber. The move will take 20,000 tonnes of newsprint and 8 million board feet of construction lumber off the market

About 40 employees of Nanaimo Forest Products’ Harmac mill reportedly will be back to work within four months as the pulp mill plans to begin a second line of operation. According to the Nanaimo Daily News, the mill is also proceeding with its plan to start a chipping operation to reduce its dependence on sawmills for its fibre supply.

The 240 workers at Marathon Pulp Inc. in Marathon, Ont. have lerarned their mill is shutting its doors for good. The mill, which is owned by Tembec and Kruger, is more than $50 million in debt, and filed for bankruptcy protection in February. The Canadian Press reported bankruptcy trustee PricewaterhouseCoopers currently controls the mill and will try to find a buyer.

White Birch Paper Company, North America’s second largest newsprint manufacturer, took market related downtime at its Stadacona L. P. Division in Quebec City, Quebec beginning March 20. The shut was planned to last until April 6 and will result in a reduction of about 30,000 tonnes of newsprint.

About 30 unionized employees at Corner Brook Pulp and Paper in Newfoundland are facing temporary layoffs after the mill’s parent company, Kruger, announced the No. 4 paper machine will be shut down for an eight-week period. The move is part of Kruger’s plan to cut production by 32,000 tonnes at its three Canadian newsprint mills in response to poor market conditions.

While reporting net earnings of $17.1 million for 2008, Quebec-based SFK Pulp will stop production for six weeks and temporarily lay off up to 225 workers at its Saint-Flicien, Que. mill in response to market demand.