Canfor announces the indefinite closure of its Tackama plywood operation in British Columbia

Oct 08, 2008. /Lesprom.com/. Canfor Corporation announced that due to the continued poor demand and low prices for plywood across North America, it will be closing indefinitely its Tackama plywood plant in Fort Nelson, British Columbia, once the existing log and veneer inventories are depleted. This is expected to occur by the end of October. Approximately 290 employees will be impacted by this closure. The plant has an annual capacity of 220 million square feet (3/8" basis) of plywood. The current market conditions and future outlook for plywood prices are not encouraging, with no evidence of a turnaround in the near future and consequently Canfor must curtail production to address the reduced market demand. "This difficult decision is in no way a reflection on the good efforts and performance of our employees at the Tackama site who have continued to make operational and cost improvements throughout these unprecedented and challenging market conditions and we would like to thank them for their efforts," said Jim Shepard, Canfor's President and CEO.