West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. will be curtailing operations at Cariboo Pulp & Paper in Quesnel.
The curtailments will be invoked in mid-April for a month and then for another month in the third quarter, the company said Tuesday. A decline in availability of sawmill residuals was cited at the reason.
"The fibre supply challenge in British Columbia is well documented. Infestation, fire, and government policy decisions have all impacted the amount of available fibre in the province," the company said. "Downtime at Cariboo Pulp & Paper will help better align our production capacity this year with the available fibre supply. These plans may be adjusted should fibre forecasts change."
The company hopes to mitigate some of the impact on its affected employees through vacation scheduling and alternative work assignments. Cariboo Pulp & Paper is jointly owned by West Fraser and Mercer International.
