NEWS RELEASE
For
immediate release: June 24, 2002
High Prairie mill plans maintenance
shutdown
Tolko’s High Prairie OSB mill announced
today that its maintenance shutdown will commence on August 15,
2002. The shutdown is scheduled for two weeks, with production
anticipated to begin again on August 29, 2002.
With major capital investment planned, the Division will strive
to meet three key objectives during the outage.
The first objective is to improve the air quality in the plant,
which has been compromised by dust, smoke, and negative air pressure
in the past. Stan Nicholls, Area Manager at High Prairie says,
"We will move our two, large air make-up units from the north
side of the mill, where they are underutilized, to the south side
of the mill. We also intend to install 7 new fans that will give
us more air make-up and exhaust to improve air circulation/ventilation.These
steps, along with other initiatives, will substantially improve
the air quality and air pressure in the plant."
The last two objectives will be to rebuild the plant’s press
and dryers. "Rebuilding our press and dryers will allow us
to optimize our products, attain increased production rates and
better serve our customer’s needs", says Stan. In addition
to these key objectives, the Division will complete a number of
process and profit-enhancing projects during the maintenance shutdown.
Stan concluded, "We are confident that with the improvements
we have planned, our ability to meet and exceed our customer’s
requirements will be significantly improved."
The two-week curtailment will remove approximately 25 Million
Square Feet (3/8 basis) from the North American OSB market. In
addition, product manufactured in the first two weeks of August
will be used to supply contract customers during the curtailment
period. As a result no cash market OSB will be available during
the month of August.
For
more information:
Stan Nicholls
Area
Manager - High Prairie Division
Phone:
780-523-2101
Ralph
Ayers
OSB Sales
Phone: 250-549-5320
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