July 31, 2006 will be a difficult day for the town of Smooth Rock Falls, ON. After much deliberation, Tembec has de…
July 31, 2006 will be a difficult day for the town of Smooth Rock Falls, ON. After much deliberation, Tembec has decided to close its market pulp mill that provides jobs for 230 of the town’s residents.
“Decisions of the nature are never easy to make, and Tembec regrets the impact of today’s announcement on employees, their families and the Smooth Rock Falls community,” said Terrence P. Kavanaugh, executive vice president and CEO.
Citing steep manufacturing costs and a high Canadian dollar, Kavanaugh concluded, “the overall financial performance of the Smooth Rock Falls mill has been unacceptable. The combined effect of these factors created a situation that could not be sustained.”
This closure ties in with a recovery plan the company announced it would be implementing in an attempt to improve margins across its facilities. The project has been named Operation Intensive Care, and five plants were short -listed for in-depth review. Smooth Rock Falls is the first of the five to close, and the others remain, as of now, unnamed. However, according to a report by the Montreal Gazette, analysts have singled out the newsprint mill at Spruce Falls, ON, and the coated paper mill at St. Francisville, LA. The Smooth Rock Falls pulp mill was also on that list.
As for future possibilities for the mill, Tembec has confirmed it will continue to monitor market, operating and financial factors to determine when, and if, a potential restart would be feasible.
The facility produces 200,000 tonnes of market pulp every year.
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