Business News

Domtar to permanently close Lebel-sur-Quévillon pulp mill

Friday 19. December 2008 - Company provides details on production curtailments in Q4 of 2008

Domtar Corporation (NYSE/TSX: UFS) announced today the permanent closing of its Lebel-sur-Quévillon, Quebec pulp mill. Operations were halted on November 24, 2005 due to unfavorable economic conditions. The Lebel-sur-Quévillon mill had an annual production capacity of 300,000 tonnes of softwood kraft pulp and employed approximately 425 employees.
The permanent closing of the mill comes after all other solutions have been considered in the last three years and as the global pulp market now faces deteriorating conditions, therefore putting an end to any expectation to re-launch a profitable operation at Lebel-sur-Quévillon.
Given the very weak economy and poor market conditions in the pulp and paper business, Domtar continues to closely monitor inventory levels and manage working capital by balancing production with its customer demand. As a result, the company will have curtailed production through lack-of-order downtime and slowdowns that are estimated to total 44,000 tonnes of pulp and approximately 173,000 tons of paper in the fourth quarter of 2008.