Sonoco to Close Small Paper Mill in Quebec

Sonoco said Friday that it is closing its Terrebonne, Quebec, paper mill effective immediately. The mill, which opened in 1961 and employs 35 people and annually produces approximately 21,000 U.S. short tons of paperboard, is being closed because its age and size make it uneconomical to upgrade for today's competitive business environment, according to J. C. Bowen, vice president-North American paper operations for Sonoco.

"We have excellent papermakers at this mill and wish we could have found cost-effective alternatives to its closing," said Bowen, who added that Sonoco is taking steps to minimize the adverse effects of the closing. Sonoco said it will move certain pieces of machinery to other Sonoco paper mills and will sell off other equipment. The property will be listed for sale, but not as a continuing paper mill. In August, Sonoco announced the closing of its paper mill in Amsterdam, NY. Like Terrebonne, Amsterdam was a smaller mill, annually producing 18,000 tons of paperboard.

"With the capacity increases we have made at other Sonoco mills and the general economic slowdown, it was not feasible to continue operating these mills," said Bowen.