Pope & Talbot to reopen three British Columbia saw mills, two at limited capacity

By Caroline Salls

Pittsburgh, Oct. 31 - Pope & Talbot, Inc. will reopen three of its British Columbia saw mills on Nov. 5, according to a company news release.

The saw mills are located in Grand Forks, B.C., Castlegar, B.C., and Fort St. James, B.C.

The mills, which were temporarily shut down on Oct. 15 because of market conditions, will be brought back at a reduced capacity, with Grand Forks and Castlegar mills operating on one shift.

Fort St. James is expected to operate as normal.

Pope and Talbot chief executive officer Harold Stanton said in the release that the decision to reopen two of the mills at a reduced capacity was prompted by falling softwood lumber products prices brought on by the poor U.S. housing market and the continued strengthening of the Canadian dollar.

"Unfortunately the continued problems in the housing market has severely hurt the demand for our softwood lumber products," Stanton said in the release.

"As we move forward we will continue to make adjustments as the market dictates."

Pope and Talbot is a Portland, Ore.-based pulp and wood products company. It filed for protection under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act of Canada on Oct. 29.

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