Wapawekka Getting Ready for Prolonged Shutdown

Wapawekka Getting Ready for Prolonged Shutdown

Wednesday, December 15, 2004 at 15:01

 

 

Workers at the Wapawekka lumber mill near Prince Albert are preparing for a two-month shutdown.

 

About fifty employees will finish their last regular shift of the year on Friday before the sawmill shuts down.

 

Weyerhaeuser spokesman Wayne Roznowsky says there are a couple of reasons behind the move.

 

Roznowsky says market conditions for pulp and paper supplies are traditionally sluggish heading into the month of January.

 

As well, he says the company needs the time to let contract workers finish installing a massive planer inside the lumber yard.

 

Roznowsky adds there is a chance the mill’s employees could be called back before the end of February, but it will depend on market conditions.

 

Lumber from the Wapawekka operation is normally sent to sawmills in Big River and Carrot River.

 

The mill is jointly-owned by Weyerhaeuser and three northern First Nations.

 

The majority of the mill’s workers are of Aboriginal ancestry.