Former Abitibi Mill Slated to Reopen

A combination of government officials and Tembec announced that they will reopen the Gaspesia mill in Chandler, Quebec. The group agreed to reopen the mill in early 2004, with construction to begin this coming spring.

The construction project, estimated to cost around $465 million, is designed to shift the former Abitibi-Consolidated mill to coated paper.

Tembed will invest $35 million to acquire a 25 percent stake in the new mill. SGF-Rexfor also will hold an equivalent interest, while the Fonds de solidarite will hold a 50 percent interest in the new facility.

When completed, the newly designed mill will have a rated capacity of 200,000 metric tons of coated paper a year. The production total will make Tembec Paper Group the sixth largest paper producer in North America, marketing more than 1.3 million metric tons.