Domtar has ceased all of its operations in Sault Ste. Marie.
Domtar made the announcement Aug. 26 that it would be shutting down planing and drying operations at the end of October. The move affects 58 jobs.
Manager of regional communications Richard Descarries says the company has been losing money from its wood products division and things “are not looking good for the next quarter.” Higher fibre costs, low prices, a stronger Canadian dollar and anti-dumping and countervailing duties are being blamed for the downturn in the operation’s fortunes.
“This is a permanent cut,” he says. “They will not be called back.”
In November, Domtar had announced that it would stop milling wood at the facility, a move that affected 150 jobs. Domtar sold the mill to a former employee’s company Boniferro Mill Works.
Big logs harvested in the Timmins area are processed at Domtar’s Timmins sawmill while small logs are transformed by a third party mill in Ostrom. This milled wood from Ostrom was then sent to Sault Ste. Marie for planing and drying by Domtar employees at facilities rented from Boniferro Mill Works.
Descarries says the company will be offering financial assistance to employees who are losing their jobs and will consider them for jobs that come up elsewhere in the company, if they are willing to relocate.
Bruce Strapp, president and chief executive officer of the Sault Ste. Marie Economic Development Corporation says the departure of Domtar has left the community with a 50,000-square-foot facility that could represent a new opportunity into the value-added wood sector.
“We are now looking for another tenant for that facility,” he says. “We’re working closely with Boniferro to bring something in.”
It is a shifting paradigm for the North, with the potential for smaller companies to fill in the spaces left behind by the departure of larger producers and better able to adapt to changing markets with new and niche products, he says.
“For now, our focus is to assist those who have been affected by this announcement,” he says. “We have a community adjustment committee that worked with those hit by the last layoffs gearing back up to work with this group.”
