Prince George, B.C.- Canfor has announced it is indefinitely closing its plywood plant in Fort Nelson. The shutdown is expected to take effect once the existing log and veneer inventories are depleted, that is expected to happen at the end of  this month.

 

The Tackama plant had initially been scheduled for shut down in January of 2008, but the workers, the union and the company came to an agreement that saw the workers take a 10% roll back in wages in order to keep the plant running.   More than 300 people are directly impacted.

 

United Steelworkers Union Local 1-424 President, Frank Everitt says the news is very disappointing  “ Everyone in Ft. Nelson put their heart and soul into making that mill a viable operation”

Everitt says everyone understands the economics of the industry, but the reality is grim.

 

The plant has an annual capacity of 220 million square feet (3/8” basis) of plywood.  In a news release, Canfor states “The current market conditions and future outlook for plywood prices are not encouraging, with no evidence of a turnaround in the near future and consequently Canfor must curtail production to address the reduced market demand.

 

“This difficult decision is in no way a reflection on the good efforts and performance of our employees at the Tackama site who have continued to make operational and cost improvements throughout these unprecedented and challenging market conditions and we would like to thank them for their efforts” said Jim Shepard, Canfor’s President and CEO.