Permanent shutdown
One of three paper machines at Catalyst Paper Corporation’s Powell River mill has been permanently shut down, the company announced on Friday, July 29.
According to a media release, Paper Machine 9 (PM9), which had been indefinitely curtailed in December 2014, has now been taken offline. Catalyst vice-president and general manager Fred Chinn stated in a media release the company continues to focus on revitalizing the Powell River mill for the future.
At the time PM9 was curtailed the company stated the decision was market-related and that it was a “difficult, but necessary decision.” A lack of orders and declining market for the type of paper the machine produced were cited at the time as key reasons for the shutdown.
Catalyst released its second quarter financial results Wednesday, July 27. The company had sales of $460.8 million, but recorded a net loss of $26.6 million for the quarter. The company stated loses were due to a strong Canadian dollar, lower production and sales volumes, higher maintenance costs and the impact of countervailing duty on supercalendered paper exports to the United States.
Cycling funds
City of Powell River will be receiving more provincial funding for cycling infrastructure.
BC Ministry of Transpor-tation and Infrastructure announced $6.5 million of BikeBC grants for 23 communities, Tuesday, August 2.
Powell River will receive $87,325 from the province’s cost-share program to fund phase three of the city’s Manson Avenue cycling lane development.
