Canfor to shutter B.C. sawmill due to pine beetle infestation
by Canadian Manufacturing Daily Staff
Will close Quesnel, B.C., facility due to area being overrun with invasive species
VANCOUVER—Canfor Corp. announced plans to close one of its sawmills in British Columbia due to a rampant mountain pine beetle infestation in the area.
According to Canfor, it will permanently shutter its operations in Quesnel, B.C., located about 100 kilometres south of Prince George, due to the area being overrun by the invasive species.
“The timber availability in the Quesnel region following the mountain pine beetle infestation unfortunately leaves us unable to continue operation of our Quesnel sawmill,” Canfor president and CEO Don Kayne said in a statement.
The wood products firm said operations will cease in March 2014, and it will offer the facility’s 209 employees positions elsewhere in the company.
“We are committed to minimizing the impacts of this closure on our Quesnel employees,” Kayne said.
