Resolute Forest Products to permanently shut idled PM No. 1 at its mill in Catawba, South Carolina; the 132,000 tonnes/year line is oldest of four at mill and has been down since June 2012 due to sluggish LWC paper demand, says company spokesperson

Debra Garcia

CATAWBA, South Carolina , May 31, 2014 (The Herald) – Resolute Forest Products is permanently closing one of four production lines at its Catawba plant.

The No. 1 line has been idle since June 2012.

Resolute decided to "write the asset off," said spokeswoman Debbie Johnston. "This is more of an accounting transaction," she said.

The decision will not affect the plant's current work force, she said.

When the line was initially idled, 98 workers were laid off. About 30 of the workers were assigned to other jobs at the plant, according to local officials with the United Steelworkers union.

The line, the oldest at the plant dating to the 1960s, made lightweight coated paper used in magazines and advertising fliers. The line had a capacity of 132,000 metric tons.

The line was idled because of a sluggish market. That market never picked up, Johnston said.

The Catawba mill continues to operate two paper lines with an annual capacity of about 550,000 tons per year of lightweight coated papers. Another line produces 250,000 tons per year of bleached softwood kraft pulp.

The mill has about 600 employees, Johnston said.

Don Worthington --803-329-4066

___

(c)2014 The Herald (Rock Hill, S.C.)

Visit The Herald (Rock Hill, S.C.) at www.heraldonline.com

Distributed by MCT Information Services

* All content is copyrighted by Industry Intelligence, or the original respective author or source. You may not recirculate, redistrubte or publish the analysis and presentation included in the service without Industry Intelligence's prior written consent. Please review our terms of use.