Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada, 07 January 2011—Tolko Industries Ltd. announced today that it will be permanently closing its veneer operation at Kelowna, British Columbia. Production at this operation has been curtailed since October 2009. The decision is due to the long-term reduced availability of high quality peeler logs, which has been further limited by the mountain pine beetle infestation.

The Kelowna site’s sawmill operation and current 170 employees are not affected by this announcement and Tolko remains committed to its continued operation.

Tolko Industries Ltd. is a private, Canadian-owned forest products company based in Vernon, British Columbia, with over 3500 employees. Tolko is a major producer and marketer of lumber, veneer, plywood, oriented strand board, and kraft papers, with manufacturing operations across western Canada. The company’s Woodlands operations have received third-party certification of their sustainable forest management systems.