Tolko Indefinitely Curtails Kelowna Lumber Mill Operations

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Tolko Industries announced its decision to curtail operations at its Kelowna lumber mill for an indeterminate period. The company blamed high log costs and tough North American market conditions for the decision. The decision is likely to impact 127 employees at the mill facility.

Troy Connolly, Vice President of Solid Wood, Tolko stated that the decsion was not as easy one to make. The sustained low levels of lumber market prices and high log costs in the B.C. region have made the mill incompetent in terms of cost of operation. The company was forced to curtail mill operations for reasons beyond their control, he noted. Although the company prefers to maintain constant operations at all of its locations, the challenging market conditions don't allow the company to do so, Connolly added.

Meantime, Pino Pucci, Vice President, Tolko Marketing and Sales assured continued support by Tolko's Marketing and Sales team to its customers, by minimizing the impacts of the closure. He reaffirmed the company's ongoing commitment to serve its customers.

The employees have already been informed about the decision. The company has ensured support and assistance of managers to address the concerns of the affected employees.

Earlier in May this year, the company had reduced the mill operations to single shift. Also, the mill is currently undergoing a six-week downtime which started in August 6th and is scheduled to end by September 15th.

During summer this year, Tolko had permanently closed its Quesnel sawmill, which had led to nearly 150 job losses.