Prince George, B.C.- The  poor lumber market has caused another casualty.

 

Vernon based Tolko Industries has announced it will indefinitely close its lumber operation in High Level Alberta. The closure will impact 290 direct employees and a further 300 woodlands contractors and their employees.

The company has notified the employees and contractors at the lumber operation.

 

Current log inventory will allow the sawmill to operate until December 18th. The planer will continue to operate until mid-January when it will also shut down.

 

“While significant operational improvements have been made in a number of areas and the efforts of our employees and contractors are recognized, the reality is that we continue to be in the worst market conditions our industry has ever seen,” says Mike Harkies, Vice President & General Manager, Solid Wood & Kraft Paper.

 

“The current cost structure at High Level simply makes the continued operation of that mill not viable,” says Harkies. He went on to say, “a restart of the High Level operation is dependent on there being a sustained improvement in the economic conditions.”

 

This curtailment will remove 385 million board feet of lumber from the market.

The High Level operation has faced two curtailments over the past year, with two weeks of downtime in February and a further two weeks over the summer.