Resolute Forest Products, a forest products company headquartered in Montreal, has announced the permanent closure of 465,000 metric tons of newsprint production capacity in Canada. The capacity reduction will be achieved with the permanent closure of Resolute’s newsprint mill in Iroquois Falls, Ontario, as well as the closure of newsprint machines at its mills in Baie-Comeau, Quebec, and Clermont, Quebec.
The company says there is ongoing weakness in the global newsprint business, exacerbated by fiber-related issues, including availability and cost as well as transportation challenges. In Quebec, power costs played a role in these decisions as did the spruce budworm infestation.
"Market conditions have had a major impact on our newsprint operations in both Ontario and Quebec, and the cost position of these operations has made them vulnerable to the structural decline in newsprint," says Richard Garneau, Resolute president and CEO.
Garneau also accused environmental activity groups for what he terms “ill-founded attacks” on the company’s forest management practices as reasons for shutting the mills.
The Iroquois Falls mill, with a capacity of 210,000 metric tons, will close Dec 22, 2014. Resolute’s paper machine at Baie-Comeau was permanently closed Dec. 5, while the Clermont paper machine will be permanently closed on or about Jan. 30, 2015. The closures at Baie-Comeau and Clermont machines will remove about 255,000 metric tons of newsprint capacity.