<b>Smurfit Stone Idling Fla. Machine</b>

Smurfit-Stone Container Corp. announced its intent to temporarily cease production and lay off the hourly workforce on the No. 2 Paper Machine at its Fernandina Beach, Fla., mill.

The decision to take downtime was based on projected market conditions and higher energy costs..

The Fernandina Beach Mill employs 610 people and has annual linerboard capacity of approximately 985,000 tons. The No. 2 machine produces approximately 573 tons of linerboard per day.