Tolko's lumber mill in Armstrong remains closed but the plywood plant is reopening.
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January 23, 2023 - 2:57 PM
The temporary shutdown of Tolko’s lumber mill in Armstrong has been extended until the end of February, at least.
But, in a news release issued today, Jan. 23, Tolko says operations are resuming at its Armstrong plywood plant that has been shut down since the end of December because of a transformer fire.
The lumber mill, along with Tolko’s Soda Creek mill in Williams Lake, shut down for a Christmas break that was extended until the end of January and, now, for at least another month.
READ MORE: Fire shuts down Tolko's Armstrong mill
“High log costs and weak lumber markets continue to impact our operating footprint in the province,” Troy Connolly, vice-president of solid wood for Tolko, said in today’s news release. “We have an extremely committed workforce at these operations whose families and communities rely on Tolko. We will continue to support our employees during this challenging time.”
About 350 workers in the two mills are affected.
The fire in the electrical substation at the Armstrong mill knocked out power to the mill on Dec. 28.
“Temporary repairs to the substation are complete, and teams are working through the process of restarting,” today’s new release says.
READ MORE: No telling when Tolko's Armstrong mill will re-open
In the summer of 2019, the Tolko mill in Kelowna was shut down for six weeks but instead of reopening in September, Tolko announced the mill’s permanent closure.
It’s not known if the same fate awaits the Armstrong mill. Other Tolko mills in North America continue to operate.
The curtailments at the Armstrong and Soda Creek operations combined reduce Tolko’s production of stud lumber by about 35 million board feet.
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