VANCOUVER — Canfor Corporation suggests it is “restructuring” its functions in British Columbia, permanently closing a single sawmill and shuttering an additional for an extended interval amid designs to make a new wood production facility.
A statement Wednesday from the Vancouver-primarily based organization says the sawmill and pellet plant in Chetwynd, B.C., north of Prince George, is predicted to close early in the second quarter of 2023.
In the meantime, it states the sawmill in Houston, B.C., west of Prince George, will close temporarily for an unspecified interval as Canfor options to construct a “new, present day, globally competitive production facility” to create “higher-price products.”
Canfor states preliminary engineering and budgeting for that task are underway, and the corporation will conduct a “thorough evaluation” of the availability of fibre to guidance the facility, generating a last expenditure selection by the close of June.
Forests Minister Bruce Ralston issued a statement in response to Canfor’s announcement, declaring the B.C. governing administration is “fully commited to supporting forestry workers impacted by closures,” and community support groups have been activated.
Canfor president Don Kayne suggests the organization is earning these “tricky but essential selections to develop a far more sustainable running footprint” in B.C.
“Our target is to match our mill capability with the economically offered fibre for harvest,” his statement stated. “This is what will eventually develop greater stability for our workforce and communities.”
Although the in close proximity to-term outlook in B.C. is “complicated” specified the supply of fibre, he stated, the province “stays an critical part” of the firm’s functions.
“The improvements we are announcing will support make us lesser but more powerful in B.C. and aid ensure we can continue to contribute to the financial state and good quality of life below in the province for a long time to arrive.”
Canfor reps did not promptly reply Wednesday evening to a dilemma about the number of work impacted by the closures.
The announcement arrives just two months immediately after Canfor introduced it will permanently close the pulp line at its Prince George pulp and paper mill afterwards this spring, impacting an estimated 300 work by the conclusion of the calendar year.
Ralston’s statement notes B.C.’s yearly allowable minimize has declined with “unparalleled wildfires” in distinct parts of the province, as effectively as the wind-down of harvesting in forests affected by earlier mountain pine beetle infestations.
He mentioned the province welcomes Canfor’s system to build a production facility in Houston, in which the minister notes the annual harvest has declined by a lot more than 25 for each cent when compared with 2008, in the course of the height of the beetle epidemic.
This report by The Canadian Push was very first released Jan. 25, 2023.
Firms in this story: (TSX:CFP, TSX:CFX)
The Canadian Press