Operations News

Metsä Fibre may temporarily lay off all personnel at its Lappeenranta, Rauma, Renko and Vilppula sawmills in Finland for up to 90 days between January and June 2026.

Metsä Group will restart its Joutseno pulp mill on 8 December 2025, ending a production shutdown that began in June. Concurrently, the company will initiate an approximately one-month production curtailment at its Rauma pulp mill, starting 15 December 2025, with a gradual restart scheduled from 7 January 2026. The adjustments are a response to current market demand for long-fibre softwood pulp.

The fire was extinguished roughly 15 minutes after the fire department arrived. Firefighters confirmed there were no injuries, and the fire did not extend into the interior of the building.

Tolko Industries Ltd. in Williams Lake has issued temporary layoffs to 35 employees while repairs take place at the Lakeview mill facility.

The change will impact 79 employees.

West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. announced that it will indefinitely curtail its oriented strand board (OSB) mill in High Level, Alberta in the spring of 2026 following an orderly wind-down and consumption of the mill's existing log supply.

Aerial trucks were used to fight the fire, including on the rooftop area, that police say started in a paper machine when particles overheated and ignited. Crews worked against high winds for several hours to put it out.

NIQ's omnichannel coverage, technology and category expertise to empower Essity's growth and innovation.

A recent long-term test conducted by GeBE Elektronik und Feinwerktechnik GmbH, a leading provider of thermal printing systems, using UPM Raflatac OptiCut™ RL54 linerless label material has reached an impressive milestone: two million cuts without the need for blade cleaning.

The change negotiations cover the entire staff of Lappeenranta, Rauma, Renko and Vilppula sawmills, approximately 350 people.

Vice President Darren Pelley says significant rainfall is needed to get back to normal operations at the mill. He says this is financially quite challenging being shut down but Kruger's $700 million transformation plan for the mill, which was announced in July, has now become more urgent.

Smurfit Westrock plans to close a Georgia facility and permanently lay off 55 employees, according to a worker adjustment and retraining notification filed with the state on Nov. 10.

Stora Enso's mill in Bad St. Leonhard, Austria, has produced over 1 million m3 of cross-laminated timber (CLT), becoming the first site within the company to reach this volume. The mill, which began CLT production in 2008, has supplied material for approximately 15,000 projects worldwide.

Citing a drooping softwood lumber demand, compounded by higher duties and additional tariffs that have reached 45 per cent for U.S. markets, West Fraser Timber announced Thursday its plans to permanently shutter both its Augusta, Ga., and 100 Mile House lumber mills by the end of 2025.

Chris Stoicheff with the mill said there are no reports of injuries. It is unknown how the fire started.

A fire broke out Monday, Oct. 20, inside a wood pellet storage dome operated by Enviva at the Port of Pascagoula, triggering emergency efforts to control the incident and protect surrounding infrastructure.

Georgia-Pacific notified employees Oct. 30 it plans to permanently shut its box plant in Mt. Olive, Illinois, by Dec. 31, according to Lauren Campen, senior manager of public affairs and communications for corrugated.

Union head expects shift reduction, extended layoff of 25 workers come November.

Corner Brook Pulp and Paper will temporarily pause newsprint production starting Monday due to low water levels impacting the ability of Deer Lake Power to supply sufficient energy to operate the mill.

The measure will result in the reduction of approximately 180 positions through unfilled vacancies, voluntary agreements, and redundancies.

Smurfit Westrock plans to permanently close a corrugated sheet and box facility in California, and 141 employees will be affected, according to a company worker adjustment and retraining notification letter the state.

Chris Stoicheff with the mill said there are no reports of injuries. It is unknown how the fire started.

At this time, Wayne County officials say it appears to be accidental.

Firefighters in Sussex were on the scene of a fire at the Irving sawmill on the edge of town on Wednesday afternoon, Oct. 8.

GreenFirst Forest Products Inc. welcomes the recent announcement of the restart of operations at Kap Paper Inc. This development highlights the strong collaboration between the federal and provincial governments and their shared commitment to supporting Northern Ontario communities and Canada's broader forestry sector.