Irving shuts down Clair, NB sawmill

[SwampDonkey]

Irving is shutting down their Clair, NB sawmill putting 75 workers out to pasture. Irving sites high power rates and uncertainty of crown wood supply.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/story/2011/09/12/nb-alward-irving-clair-mill.html

Be a shame if Irving had to pay a good price for private wood to have it arrive at the mill gates. There is no shortage of wood, just cash. ;)

[thecfarm]

What do they saw there? What kind and what size? Have a Irving mill here in Dixfield,about 45 minutes form me, that uses mostly white pine. They saw mostly one inch boards and make window and door frame stock.

[Magicman]

So sad.  Maybe they can reorganize and reopen when the housing market improves.

[SwampDonkey]

I believe it's a spruce studwood mill. The town of Clair is west of Edmundston. It's that arm of NB that reaches west over the top of Maine following the Saint John River. Sandwiched in by Quebec province. The Saint Francis River from Quebec is the extend of that arm, and a little piece of Maine does but against the river there to.

No fear, Irving goes dormant sometimes with sawmills to lobby and stew over their predicament.  They pulled the same thing in Chipman when their lobby couldn't procure enough private wood, based on their wood prices. :D ;D

[duke]

Sounds like they want some money from somewere other than the banks. Those stud mills really have to pump out the wood to make a profit. I guess maybe the mill might be a little on the older side of things. How many people worked thier say 20 years ago or even longer or is it a fairly newer mill??
duke

[SwampDonkey]

Irving's mills are up to date mills usually, but I'm not sure of the details of this one mill. It may very well be a mill taken over, but Irving has a lot of Freehold forest in that region as well as a large timber license on crown land. I'm also not sure about their importing of wood from Maine (volume), because they also own a large tract of forest in northern Maine. The federal government recently dished out a bunch of money $16M if I recall to upgrade some mill processes, but I don't think sawmills got any this round.

Irving likes things to go there way, and I personally couldn't care less if they packed it in. I never went to them for a job and never sold them a stick of wood. ;)