Fraser Lake鈥檚 largest employer is closing.
The sawmill owned by West Fraser Timber Co. announced on Monday afternoon that it was permanently shutting down operations.
鈥淭oday鈥檚 decision is the result of West Fraser鈥檚 inability to access economically viable fibre in the region,鈥� said company president and CEO Sean McLaren.
鈥淭he closure of Fraser Lake Sawmill will impact approximately 175 employees,鈥� according to the company. West Fraser expects to mitigate the impact on affected employees by providing work opportunities at other West Fraser operations.
鈥淲e do not make these decisions lightly鈥�, said Sean McLaren, President & CEO, West Fraser. 鈥淲e know this announcement has a significant impact on our employees, their families, our suppliers and the local community, who all rely on a healthy forest industry.鈥�
The Vancouver-based company has a large centre of operations still in its founding city of Quesnel. That鈥檚 were Keith Carter is based, West Fraser鈥檚 senior vice-president Western Canada.
鈥淭his is a difficult announcement for West Fraser as we have worked hard for many years to keep this mill in operation,鈥� said Carter. 鈥淚n July 2019, we moved the mill from three to two shifts per day, and then in October 2022, we moved to one shift. Unfortunately, we鈥檝e reached the stages where we are not able to access enough economically viable fibre to keep the mill running for a single shift.鈥�
The mill closure will reduce West Fraser鈥檚 Canadian lumber capacity by approximately 160-million board-feet.
鈥淭oday鈥檚 announcement, combined with our recent decision to indefinitely curtail operations at Huttig, Arkansas and close our sawmill in Maxville, Florida better align our capacity with demand and available sources of economic fibre,鈥� said McLaren. 鈥淲e believe these initiatives, along with the decision to divest three pulp assets and acquire Spray Lake Sawmills in 2023 make West Fraser stronger through the cycle.鈥�
McLaren said West Fraser anticipates 鈥渞ecording restructuring and impairment charges of approximately $81-million in
the fourth quarter of 2023 related to facility closures and curtailments due to availability of economic fibre sources in British Columbia.鈥�
What comes next for the sawmill at Fraser Lake would be what McLaren called 鈥渁n orderly wind-down.鈥� Contacts in Fraser Lake confirmed the closure would be complete by May.
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