Layoffs begin at St. Marys Paper

St. Marys Paper workers running Paper Machine 4 received layoff notices today and operators of Paper Machine 3 will be getting theirs tomorrow, says the mill's manager of external affairs Marc Dube.

Machine 4 runs its last rolls of paper tomorrow and Machine 3 will finish on Friday, Dube tells SooToday.com.

"Our customers reacted much more aggressively than we had anticipated," Dube says. "Our order book went from 30,000 tons when we announced wind-up to 10,000 tons."

Dube says customers quickly found other sources for paper because they're afraid their orders will not be filled or that there won't be a company to complain to if something is wrong with the paper.

"It is very sad that things have gone this way and we are still trying to be hopeful," he says. "But it's frightening that the only ones at the door are the liquidators."

Paper Machine 5 will continue to run the longest.

But Dube believes it won't be operating more than another 10 days to fill the orders the company still has.

He says that this is especially regrettable, with all the work that the City and the province have done to try and find a way to keep the mill operating.

"The owner has directed us to shut the machines down in a way that they are protected and can easily be restarted," Dube says. "We have sent out teasers to everyone we could think of who may be interested in purchasing the mill to operate it."

Next week, the liquidators will tour the mill to assess the value of assets and then they'll look for buyers for those assets.

The liquidators and anyone interested in operating the mill will place bids on it, he said.

If the liquidator is the only bidder or the highest bidder, then the paper machines and all the contents of the mill will be disassembled and sold for use in other mills or for scrap, Dube said.

But this isn't likely to happen for several weeks.

"Our final day of operations is still likely to be June 3," said Dube. "The process of safely shutting down paper machines in a way that preserves them takes time."

St. Marys Paper still has wood stock in the bush and in the yard as well.

"All of the wood we don't use to fill our last orders will be sold for use in other mills," said Dube. "That includes the stock we have at landings waiting for break-up."

Dube said the reality of what's happening has really started to sink in but he still hopes someone will come forward with a solution that will keep the mill operating.

"The history of this mill means that many families will be profoundly affected by its wind-up," said Dube. "But the reality is that the business as it was wasn't viable."

"Even if a buyer comes forward now there will have to be big changes to make it work," he said. "It will be very difficult to redevelop a customer base."

For now, St. Marys Paper workers still left at the mill will be shutting down, cleaning and protecting the paper machines in hopes of a buyer emerging before the machines are disassembled.