Flambeau River Paper announced the shutdown of its #3 paper machine to be effective immediately. #3 paper machine primarily produces commodity white papers and has been impacted by the ongoing and unprecedented rise in pulp costs coupled with an in-elasticity of commodity paper price. Flambeau River Papers’ #1 and #2 paper machines along with the Flambeau pulp mill, woodyard and utilities will continue to operate uninterrupted on a 24 hour, 7 day a week schedule. It is important to point out that PM 1 and PM 2 produce primarily specialty and value-added papers. The size and capabilities of these two paper machines, along with integrated nature of the mill, make them competitive and well suited for continued success in these markets. Over the last five years the mill has worked hard and qualified propriety specialty papers on these machines. Also manufactured on PM 1 and PM 2 are Flambeau’s other value-added papers such as Torchglow and Glacier Opaque branded papers, custom FDA compliant papers, fluorescent colored papers, wet-strength papers, saturating base stocks, deeply colored papers, watercolor papers, book papers, endleaf papers, lightweight offset papers, converting and drawing stocks. Paper grades historically produced on PM 3 such as Offset Papers and Laser Bond papers will not be part of the productive capacity of FRP as we proceed forward. We will work in concert with you and communicate the status of pending orders and shipments.

Stora Enso will start codetermination negotiations with employees at its Hylte Mill in Sweden regarding a plan to reorganise the mill, including permanent closure of paper machine PM3 and the deinking plant (DIP). After the planned restructuring, the mill would run on 100% thermomechanical pulp (TMP), improving the competitiveness of the mill. The planned closure of PM3 and the reorganisation of the mill would impact a maximum of 140 persons. PM3 is planned to be closed by the end of 2020 and the DIP latest in Q2 2021. Stora Enso will continue to produce standard newsprint at Hylte, Langerbrugge and Sachsen mills. The closure of Hylte Mill PM3 would not impact Stora Enso’s newsprint product offering, and we would be able to serve our customers as today.

The North American forest products industry has a rich and storied history, and nowhere is it more evident than in Domtar’s combined 205 years of business. Our family tree took root in 1820, and it extends unbroken to today under the ownership of Indonesian businessman Jackson Wijaya. Much has changed over the two centuries that have passed since we began operations in Canada by exporting lumber to Great Britain, but what hasn’t changed throughout Domtar’s history is our relentless pursuit of excellence. To better understand where we came from and how we became a leading manufacturer of diversified forest products, read through this overview of Domtar’s history.