Fraser Papers Obtains Court Approval for Sale of Thurso Pulp Mill

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Fraser Papers Inc., Toronto, Ont., Canada, together with its subsidiary, FPS Canada Inc., reports that it has obtained final approval from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice to complete the sale of its NBHK pulp mill at Thurso, Qué., Canada, to Fortress Specialty Cellulose Inc. of North Vancouver, B.C., Canada. The company and Fortress expect to close the Transaction within the next few weeks.

Fortress says that it will convert the Thurso operation into a world class, low cost, specialty cellulose operation. Concurrently, it intends to build a 25 MW biomass-based cogeneration plant at the mill that will produce green electricity resulting in material net energy savings. The specialty cellulose mill is planned to have an annual production capacity of more than 200,000 air dried metric tpy and is expected to be completed in mid-2011.

In entering into the specialty cellulose sector, Fortress Specialty will focus on producing dissolving grade cellulose for the textile industry, primarily targeting viscose fiber (rayon) products that have shown strong growth of approximately 10% in China and 7% worldwide over the past five years. Fraser Papers is an integrated specialty paper company that produces a broad range of specialty packaging and printing papers. It has operations in New Brunswick and Québec, Canada, as well as in Maine, and New Hampshire in the U.S.