Domtar agrees to delay disassembling Sault sawmill

Domtar Inc. has absolutely no intention of wavering from its plan to close its Sault hardwood sawmill on January 31, company managers said on Thursday.

However, when Domtar's Director of Secondary Manufacturing Serge Constantineau (left), Regional Communications Manager Richard Descarries (right) and Director of Forestry Brian Nicks met yesterday with local officials, they agreed to delay dismantling the local mill to allow time to seek a buyer for the entire operation.

Meeting with the Domtar staff for almost three hours yesterday at the Waterfront Holiday Inn were Sault MP Carmen Provenzano, MPP Tony Martin, Mayor John Rowswell and Mike Barker, chair of the Sault Ste. Marie Economic Development Corp.

Domtar will negotiate with the EDC to determine an appropriate length for the delay, which the company warns will not be indefinite.

The company has no objection to selling the Sault sawmill as a going concern because it's Domtar's only hardwood mill and therefore would not compete with other company operations, Constantineau told SooToday News.

15 new jobs at I-joist plant

Meanwhile, Richard Descarries shared a bit of good news with us.

The Anthony-Domtar I-joist plant near the sawmill is about to expand its workforce by 50 percent, Descarries said.

Laid-off sawmill workers are welcome to apply for the 15 new positions that will open up there in the near future, he told SooToday.com.

SooToday background documents

Announcement of January 31 closure EDC background paper Background about the I-joist plant

Domtar lost $25 million in the Sault

The Domtar managers spent much of yesterday's meeting trying to correct what they believe are misconceptions about the sawmill and the wood sources that supply it.

There's been considerable talk among politicians about having the Ontario Government block any attempt by Domtar to remove wood from the Sault area for processsing elsewhere.

But Descarries cautioned that it's the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources that owns the wood, not his company.

The MNR also controls allocation of the wood, he said.

And after spending $25 million in Sault Ste. Marie trying to get the local mill on its feet, Domtar has made up its mind to close the facility and the company's board of directors has approved the action, Descarries said.

The company is taking extensive measures to help its displaced workers, and severance packages are up to twice what's required under Ontario law, he said.

Federal government rolls out program

In an unrelated development the Government of Canada yesterday announced implementation of a program to help wean communities who are dependent on the forest industry.

To read the government's announcement, please click here.