RICHMOND, BC – Current global conditions and recent events impacting Paper Excellence require us to extend the curtailment of paper operations at Powell River and Crofton.
Over the past six months, an exceptional intersection of events has negatively impacted our operations including: a material shortage of economic forest fibre on BC’s coast; a significant external malware attack which rendered our paper business enterprise systems inoperable for a period of time, and from which we continue to recover as we work to restore all affected operations; and COVID-19 which has materially impacted the supply chain for many of the paper products that we manufacture.
We currently expect the curtailment to carry into mid-summer. Paper Excellence will service our core paper customer base from our Port Alberni operation during this period, along with intermittent manufacturing runs at our Crofton facility as opportunities permit. All production activity will take place under enhanced health and safety protocols aimed at ensuring the health of our employees and communities, and addressing the COVID-19 challenge. The entire situation is expected to continue to be highly fluid and the timeline may be modified in the coming months.
We are hopeful that decisions of municipal, provincial and federal governments with respect to mitigation measures offered to help maintain business during the COVID-19 upheaval will provide immediate needed relief for our industry. These continue to be unprecedented times and we will continue to engage with governments as we seek to chart a path forward for our affected employees and communities hit the hardest by these events.
Paper Excellence continues to believe British Columbia can be a leader in the pulp and paper industry and remains committed to its long-term investment in the Province.
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Paper Excellence, headquartered in British Columbia, is a diversified manufacturer of pulp and specialty, printing and writing, and packaging papers that operates 9 facilities in Canada and France producing over 3.6 million tonnes annually with a workforce of over 3,500 strong. Paper Excellence is poised to continue to grow with its strategy of operational excellence and high-quality, cost-effective products.
Media Contact: Graham Kissack, VP, EHS and Communications | Mobile – (250) 732-7991