Fortress closes Quebec pulp mill after unsuccessful attempt to find buyer

Fortress Global Enterprises has laid off the remaining 73 staff at its dissolving pulp mill in Thurso, Quebec after announcing Tuesday that it has failed to secure a buyer for the company.

Fortress cited weak market demand for dissolving pulp, particularly because of weakening demand in China for textiles, as the reason for its financial constraints. Dissolving pulp is used to make fabric fibres such as rayon and Lyocell.

The CBC reports that as a result of the pulp mill closure, hardwood flooring company Lauzon Planchers de bois exclusifs is shuttering its nearby sawmill, costing 113 jobs. The sawmill supplied wood chips to the Fortress plant, but had already stopped its own logging operations in October after Fortress temporarily closed and laid off 250 of its workers.

David Lauzon, the sawmill’s CEO, tells the CBC his mill plans to find an alternate fibre source and reopen in the next few months.

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