Terrace Bay in the Thunder Bay Region is starting 2024 with the community’s largest employer, AV Terrace Bay, announcing a temporary shutdown of its Terrace Bay pulp mill due to prevailing market conditions.
Company spokesperson Mike Leger says the company made the announcement late on Tuesday, adding the move is effective immediately and will impact 400 employees at the facility.
He emphasizes that this shutdown is temporary with the mill being placed in a state of “warm idle,” a measure taken to facilitate a potential future restart.
However, he did not provide a specific timeline for when operations might resume.
The operation is owned by the Aditya Birla Group which states demand for Kraft pulp has experienced fluctuations adding producers and consumers of Kraft pulp have had to navigate fluctuating prices, an impact on profitability and supply chain strategies.
The mill is the second to be idled in Ontario, the first taking place at Domtar’s Pulp and Paper Mill in Espanola in November of last year.
