Duluth’s paper mill to be sold again with promises of new jobs (startribune.com)

Reality is setting in for about 225 paper mill workers in Camas. Layoffs announced in November 2017 are now underway. Many losing their jobs have worked at the mill for decades. Workers expressed a lot of sadness, grieving the loss of jobs they spent decades doing. The decision is forever changing the city that was built around it. “There's been a paper mill in Camas for 138 years,” Korhonen said. “We were proud to make paper in Camas." Click Read More below for additional information.

West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Georgia Pacific’s oriented strand board (“OSB”) mill near Allendale, South Carolina for approximately $280 million. The transaction is anticipated to close following successful completion of U.S. regulatory reviews and satisfaction of customary conditions. Management will provide an update and further details about the transaction on West Fraser’s third quarter earnings call on October 28, 2021. All dollar amounts in this news release are expressed in U.S. dollars. The Allendale facility, which initially began producing OSB in 2007, has been idle since late 2019 and has an estimated stated capacity of approximately 760 million square feet (3/8-inch basis). The Company intends to invest an estimated $70 million of additional capital to upgrade and optimize the facility in preparation for its restart and this upgrade is anticipated to take approximately nine months to complete. The mill is expected to directly employ approximately 135 people and be one of the lowest cost mills in the Company’s OSB portfolio after the optimization is complete and the mill has ramped up to full production, a process that typically takes 18-24 months after restart.

“BillerudKorsnäs has an incredible opportunity at the sweet spot of trends supporting a growing demand for our renewable, high-quality products made of primary fibres. We have developed a strategic direction around how to reach a profitable and sustainable revenue growth to 2030,” comments Christoph Michalski, President and CEO. BillerudKorsnäs’ new strategy focuses on attractive markets with good growth opportunities and product segments where the company has a strong ability to compete. • Whilst Europe will remain the main market, new business opportunities will be explored, specifically for paperboard in the Americas. • To maximise the organic growth opportunity operational efficiency will be critical. Therefore, the annual investments in mill maintenance and development are expected to reach SEK 1.5-1.7 billion until 2025. • Possibilities to increase production capacity at the group’s existing facilities or via acquisitions will be evaluated. • Transformation towards a professional sourcing organisation for wood supply is an integral part of the strategy with the aim to build long term partnerships to secure a competitive fibre availability. • Additional structural savings under the current cost and efficiency programme is estimated to amount to SEK 130 million during 2022.