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Tolko further extends B.C. shutdowns through February

Tolko Industries has announced that downtime at its Soda Creek and Armstrong Lumber divisions will continue through the month of February.

“We do not make these decisions lightly,” said Troy Connolly, vice-president of solid wood. “We have an extremely committed workforce at these operations whose families and communities rely on Tolko. We will continue to support our employees during this challenging time.”

These temporary curtailments will reduce production by approximately 35 million board feet of stud lumber.

“High log costs and weak lumber markets continue to impact our operating footprint in the province,” said Connolly. “While we strive to ensure consistency and stability for all of our operations, the upward cost pressures in the province combined with the notable decline in lumber demand make the decision necessary.”

Pino Pucci, vice-president, marketing and sales, added, “Tolko’s marketing and sales team will continue to support our customers and do our best to minimize any impacts. Our customers are understanding of current market conditions and aware of our ongoing commitment to serve them.”

As an additional update on Tolko facilities, operations will resume this week at White Valley and Armstrong Plywood Divisions. These locations were forced to take downtime due to a December 28 substation fire, which caused an ongoing power outage at Armstrong Plywood and Armstrong Lumber. Temporary repairs to the substation are complete, and teams are working through the process of restarting.

The original holiday downtime started Dec. 19 in Armstrong and Dec. 28 in Soda Creek, and extended through the month of January.