Shutdown at Corner Brook Pulp and Paper begins, Kruger officials anxious to start $700 million retrofit

Last week, parent company Kruger announced the shutdown due to critically low water levels at the Grand Lake reservoir, which is used to generate electricity at Deer Lake Power to source newsprint production.

Mill workers at Corner Brook Pulp and Paper will be handling different duties today as production has stopped and a shutdown is underway and for how long depends on nature. Last week, parent company Kruger announced the shutdown due to critically low water levels at the Grand Lake reservoir, which is used to generate electricity at Deer Lake Power to source newsprint production.  Vice President Darren Pelley says significant rainfall is needed to get back to normal operations at the mill. He says this is financially quite challenging being shut down but Kruger’s $700 million transformation plan for the mill, which was announced in July, has now become more urgent. The  company had been in discussions with the previous government about the proposed diversification plan and Pelley says they’re anxious to begin talks with the newly sworn in government. Pelley says it’s critical to get this project started as soon as possible and one interesting piece of this project is that it includes a wind farm.

In a July news release, Kruger stated, “ This  project will promote the expansion of the provincial sawmill industry, provide energy and power capacity for NL Hydro, while sustaining jobs for Corner Brook Pulp and Paper operations and the provincial forestry sector. The proposed plan will also create a significant number of jobs during the construction phase."