VANCOUVER, BC, Nov. 14, 2023 /CNW/ - Canfor Corporation (TSX:
CFP) announced today it will curtail operations at its Polar
Sawmill located in Bear Lake British
Columbia, north of Prince
George, following an orderly wind-down. The curtailment is
the result of a shortage of economically available fibre in the
region and is expected to be in place for a period of approximately
six months. The Company will continue to evaluate market conditions
and fibre availability in the region and adjust operations
accordingly.
"Unfortunately, BC is amongst the highest cost operating
jurisdictions in the world. With persistent weak market conditions
and a shortage of cost-competitive fibre in the region, we simply
don't have enough economic fibre to support both of our
Prince George-area mills through
this winter. As a result, we are making the difficult decision to
curtail operations at Polar to ensure continued operations at our
other facilities in the region," said Stephen Mackie, Executive Vice President, North
American Operations.
"We know this will have significant impacts on our Polar
employees, their families, our suppliers and the local community,
who all rely on a healthy forest industry. We regret having to take
this action and are committed to supporting our employees and their
families during this difficult time. We will also continue to
encourage government to work with industry, Indigenous partners and
communities to address the challenges and uncertainty the industry
is facing in accessing fibre in BC – fibre that supports thousands
of manufacturing jobs and creates the low-carbon products the world
wants."
The curtailment will remove approximately 140 million board feet
of production over six months.
Forward Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release constitute
"forward-looking statements" which involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to be
materially different from any future results, performance or
achievements expressed or implied by such statements. Words such as
"expects", "anticipates", "projects", "intends", "plans", "will",
"believes", "seeks", "estimates", "should", "may", "could", and
variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to
identify such forward-looking statements. These statements are
based on management's current expectations and beliefs and actual
events or results may differ materially. There are many factors
that could cause such actual events or results expressed or implied
by such forward-looking statements to differ materially from any
future results expressed or implied by such statements.
Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and
Canfor assumes no obligation to update such information to reflect
later events or developments, except as required by law.
About Canfor Corporation
Canfor is a global leader in the manufacturing of high-value
low-carbon forest products including dimension and specialty
lumber, engineered wood products, pulp and paper, wood pellets and
green energy. Proudly headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canfor produces
renewable products from sustainably managed forests, at more than
55 facilities across its diversified operating platform in
Canada, the United States and Europe. The Company has a 70% stake in Vida
AB, Sweden's largest privately
owned sawmill company and also owns a 54.8% interest in Canfor Pulp
Products Inc. Canfor shares are traded on The Toronto Stock
Exchange under the symbol CFP. For more information visit
canfor.com.
SOURCE Canfor Corp