West Fraser Announces Revised Curtailment Schedule for Cariboo Pulp & Paper Mill in Quesnel, BC

West Fraser has revised its plans for the curtailment of its Cariboo Pulp & Paper facility in Quesnel, BC, according to local reporting by “MyCaribooNow” (4-8-23). West Fraser originally announced in early February that there would be two one-month shutdowns with the first one scheduled for mid-April to mid-May.

However, Joyce Wagenaar, Director of Communications at West Faser, told “MyCaribooNow” on Monday (4-10-23) that the company has altered its plan and the new plan would reduce the impact on employees.

According to Wagenaar, “Our plan for the mill is now to stop production for May and use that time for our annual maintenance outage. Due to the current fiber supply challenge, it will be slightly longer outage than in previous years.”

“Maintenance work will be performed by a combination of contractors and mill employees. As a result, we have been able to mitigate the entire impact on affected employees through alternative work assignments and vacation scheduling,” Wagenaar added.

In regard to the planned one-month shutdown in 2023Q3, the company will continue to assess the fiber supply outlook and provide an update in the fall.