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Forest Industry

Soda Creek, Armstrong mills to remain closed through February: Tolko

Jan 23, 2023 | 2:45 PM

WILLIAMS LAKE, B.C. — Tolko Industries is blaming market conditions for announcing another month of downtime at two of its B.C. Interior mills.

In a news release, Vice President of Solid Wood Troy Connolly says downtime will continue through February at its Soda Creek and Armstrong lumber mills. The mills have already been shut down for all of January.

The decision impacts more than 350 Tolko employees. Tolko says the curtailments will result in a reduction of about 35 million board feet of stud lumber.

“High log costs and weak lumber markets continue to impact our operating footprint in the province,” said Connolly. “While we strive to ensure consistency and stability for all of our operations, the upward cost pressures in the province combined with the notable decline in lumber demand make the decision necessary.”

“We do not make these decisions lightly,” he added. “We have an extremely committed workforce at these operations whose families and communities rely on Tolko. We will continue to support our employees during this challenging time.”

In an earlier news release, the company said downtime decisions would be evaluated monthly.

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