Pelletizer to Lead Fortress Dissolving Pulp Business

Fortress Paper Ltd., Vancouver, B.C., Canada, has appointed Yvon Pelletier president of its dissolving pulp business, effective February 25. Pelletier has more than 30 years of experience in the pulp and paper industry and has held leadership roles in technical, operational, and commercial areas. Prior to joining the Fortress group, Pelletier was EVP of Tembec Inc., and president of its Specialty Cellulose and Chemical Group (see Tembec article below). As a senior executive at Tembec, Pelletier served as GM of various dissolving pulp and kraft pulp operations, and acted as SVP of the company's Kraft Pulp Division, overseeing three mills in Canada and two in France.

Pelletier's role at Fortress will include leading the company's dissolving pulp business, which currently operates through the Fortress Specialty Cellulose Mill and the Fortress Global Cellulose Mill. He replaces Peter Vinall, who has been with the corporation since 2010.

Chadwick Wasilenkoff, CEO of Fortress Paper, said that "we are very pleased to have someone of Yvon Pelletier''s extensive experience joining our team. Yvon has an intimate knowledge of the dissolving pulp industry, having lead complex mill operations and implemented many capital expenditure and upgrade projects, and has a proven record of success in improving business performance. We believe that Yvon''s appointment will provide enhanced strategic leadership to our dissolving pulp business, and that he possesses the technical skills and practical local expertise that will be a significant benefit in advancing our dissolving pulp projects and business objectives."

Fortress Paper operates internationally in three distinct business segments—dissolving pulp, specialty papers, and security paper products. The company operates its dissolving pulp business at the Fortress Specialty Cellulose Mill located in Canada, which is also in the process of expanding into the renewable energy generation sector with the construction of a cogeneration facility. The company also is seeking to expand its dissolving pulp capacity with the recent acquisition of the Fortress Global Cellulose Mill at Lebel-sur-Quévillon, Qué., which it intends to convert into a dissolving pulp mill and where it intends to re-start the cogeneration facility.

Fortress operates its specialty papers business at the Dresden Mill in Germany, where it is a producer of specialty non-woven wallpaper base products. The company operates its security paper products business at the Landqart Mill in Switzerland, where it produces banknote, passport, visa, and other brand protection and security papers, and at its Fortress Optical Facility in Canada, where it manufacturers optically variable thin film material.

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