VANCOUVER – Canfor Corp. (TSX:CFP) has decided to permanently close its Rustad Sawmill in Prince George, B.C., and Tackama Mill in Fort Nelson, B.C.
The two mills were shut indefinitely after the 2008 collapse of the U.S. housing market.
Approximately 200 people had worked at Tackama and another 150 at Rustad when they were in operation.
Rustad and Tackama employees will receive statutory payments and severance as negotiated with the United Steelworkers.
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“Canfor has determined that the capital investment needed to bring the Rustad facility up to globally competitive operating standards is prohibitive,” the company said.
“The company has instead focused a $300 million, three-year capital investment plan on other facilities where smaller amounts of capital spending can realize significant improvements in cost performance and capacity.”
Last week, Quebec forestry company Tembec signed a deal to sell its Elko and Canal Flats sawmills and the associated 1.1 million cubic metres of lumber and cutting rights from Crown and private land in the southern B.C. Interior to Canfor for $60 million.
Canfor bought the Rustad Sawmill in 1999 and acquired the Tackama operation as part of its 2004 acquisition of Slocan Forest Products.
The forestry company produces softwood lumber, a plywood substitute called oriented strand board, remanufactured lumber and specialized wood products.
It has operations in British Columbia, Alberta, Quebec, Washington state, and North and South Carolina.
Canfor shares were down 22 cents at $10.43 on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Monday.
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