Corner Brook Pulp and Paper adds revenue sources to strengthen viability

NL Hydro will buy energy from the company’s Deer Lake Power assets.

On Friday, government announced an agreement to help stabilize Corner Brook Pulp and Paper (CBPP) and the forestry industry during challenging conditions in the newsprint market. NL Hydro will buy energy from the company’s Deer Lake Power assets. CBPP has also committed to sell saw logs to the three large sawmills in line with operating plans submitted to the Department of Fisheries, Forestry, and Agriculture. These saw log sales are essential for the stability of the forest sector.

Kruger, the owner of Corner Brook Pulp and Paper issued a statement Friday night under the headline, “CORNER BROOK PULP AND PAPER IMPLEMENTS MEASURES TO ADD REVENUE SOURCES AND TO STRENGTHEN ITS VIABILITY” The statement said, “The agreement, which benefits both entities, will better position CBPP to face increasingly challenging conditions in the global newsprint market. Furthermore, a Kruger dedicated task force will work to identify viable projects to diversify CBPP’s production in the field of wood-based bioproducts. The goal is to add revenue sources to make operations more sustainable in the long term, while also unlocking Newfoundland and Labrador’s high forest potential.”

Meanwhile, CBPP is the only newsprint mill in the province and, according to Statistics Canada, contributed $49.9 million to the provincial GDP in 2020. CBPP operates two paper machines producing 240,000 tonnes annually with a sales value of ~$130 million and paper production directly employees about 305 workers.