Mercer International is struggling with fibre supply for its Celgar pulp mill in British Columbia, Canada and has therefore announced an extended downtime. Production will be idled for three weeks, with the curtailment expected to start in March 2023.
"We are disappointed that the current fibre supply situation – and in particular the lack of available residual fibre for pulp – has led us to the difficult position forcing us to curtail," said Juan Carlos Bueno, Mercer's President and CEO.
The Celgar mill produces northern bleached softwood kraft (NBSK) pulp with an annual capacity of 500.000 tpy. Mercer operates tow other pulp mills in Canada: the Peace River mill in Alberta and the Cariboo Pulp and Paper mill in Quesnel, B.C., which is a 50/50 joint venture with West Fraser Mills.
Mercer is a forest products company with operations in Canada, Germany and the USA. The group has annual capacities of 2.3 million t of pulp, 960 million board feet of lumber, 140,000 m³ of cross-laminated timber, 17 million pallets and 150,000 t of wood pellets.
