Canfor to Permanently Close Vavenby Sawmill

Canfor Corporation (“Canfor”) announced it will be closing its Vavenby sawmill in British Columbia this July following an orderly wind down. Canfor has reached an agreement to sell the forest tenure associated with the Vavenby sawmill to Interfor for a price of $60 million. The sale of the forest tenure is subject to customary closing conditions including the consent of the Minister of Forests. Closing is expected to occur in the third quarter of 2019.

“Due to the current and long-term log supply constraints we face in the Vavenby region, along with the high cost of fibre, we have made the very difficult decision to permanently close the sawmill and sell the associated forest tenure to Interfor. The ongoing depressed lumber markets have expedited this decision,” said Don Kayne, President and CEO, Canfor.

“Today’s decision is not a reflection on our employees, our contractors or the local communities of Vavenby and Clearwater who have all contributed significantly to the operation of our mill,” added Kayne. “We deeply regret the significant impact to our employees, contractors and the communities, and will be working to support them through this difficult time.”

“The BC forest industry has recognized for several years that sawmill capacity must be reduced as the annual allowable cut decreases following the end of the Mountain Pine Beetle epidemic,” said Kayne.

The Vavenby sawmill has an annual production capacity of approximately 250 million board feet.

Following the closure of Vavenby, Canfor will have 12 sawmills in Canada, with total annual capacity of approximately 3.55 billion board feet.

About Canfor Corporation

Canfor is a leading integrated forest products company based in Vancouver, British Columbia (“BC”) with interests in BC, Alberta, North and South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi and Arkansas, as well as in Sweden with its recent majority acquisition of Vida Group. Canfor produces primarily softwood lumber and also owns a 54.8% interest in Canfor Pulp Products Inc., which is one of the largest global producers of market northern bleached softwood kraft pulp and a leading producer of high performance kraft paper. Canfor shares are traded on The Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol CFP.

Contact:

Michelle Ward – Director, Corporate Communications – communications@canfor.com – (604) 661-5225

Source: Canfor Corporation