SFK Pulp Extends Shutdown of Pulp Mill in Quebec


Longueuil, Québec, Canada, 01 April 2009 – SFK Pulp announced today a one-week extension to the six-week production shutdown initially nnounced on 25 February 2009, at its Saint-Félicien, Québec, northern bleached softwood kraft (NBSK) pulp mill. Including this one-week extension at the Saint-Félicien mill and previously announced downtime at the Fairmont, West Virginia, USA, recycled bleached kraft (RBK) pulp mill, total capacity removed since the beginning of 2009 will amount to approximately 60,000 metric tons of NBSK pulp and 40,000 metric tons of RBK pulp.

“We remain firmly committed to our stated goals of proactively aligning production with current market demand and of prudently managing inventory levels,” said Pierre Gabriel Côté, president and chief executive officer of SFK Pulp.

SFK Pulp (TSX: SFK.UN), a leading producer and marketer of premium virgin and recycled kraft pulp, operates three mills, in Saint-Félicien, Québec, Canada, and in Fairmont, West Virginia, and Menominee, Michigan, in the United States. SFK Pulp employs approximately 550 people and has a total annual production capacity of 745,000 metric tons. The Saint-Félicien mill supplies NBSK pulp to various sectors of the paper industry in Canada, the United States, and Europe for use in speciality products. The Fairmont and Menominee mills manufacture air-dried market RBK pulp and primarily supply manufacturers of uncoated freesheet, commercial, and away-from-home tissue and coated paper in the United States.