Resolute closes Laurentide mill in Quebec

摘要

Owing to growing pressure from costs and competition, North American paper manufacturer Resolute Forest Products has decided to close down its Laurentide paper mill in the Canadian province of Quebec in mid-October. Because of its cost structure and the resumed operation of a competing paper mill, it no longer makes economic sense to continue to operate the mill, which can produce up to 190,000 tpy of wood-containing printing paper such as SC paper, said Resolute in a press release. Higher costs for fibres, transport, and fuel have had a negative effect on the mill's ability to compete, said Resolute. Additional competition arose when a competitor resumed operation at the end of 2012. The facility in question is the Port Hawkesbury mill of Pacific West Corporation in Nova Scotia, which restarted its 360,000 tpy plant for uncoated mechanical printing paper in the fourth quarter of the year before last. Competitors criticised that this happened with assistance from the provincial and Canadian governments. Resolute's main reason for the closure, however, is the fact that the market in which the Laurentide mill operates has shrunk by approximately 25% in the last few years.