5 months ago
PORTLAND (NEWS CENTER) -- Fraser Papers Inc. has filed for bankruptcy protection in courts in Canada and the U.S. While company officials say one Maine mill is safe, workers at two other mills in Maine could soon be out of work. The Toronto-based company announced that its filings Thursday in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice and the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware will provide time to restructure the business. During the proceedings, which could last up to a year, the company will be protected from creditors. Fraser CEO Peter Gordon told NEWS CENTER there will be no immediate impact on operations at the Madawaska mill. He said the five machines of the mill's eight that have been running will continue to run. Gordon said operations also will continue as normal in Gorham, N.H. He said those mills produce specialty papers used in pharmaceutical products, food products and financial records that are still in demand in the marketplace. But Gordon added that the pulp and lumber side of business has suffered. Therefore, he said, when the sawmills in Masardis and Ashland run out of lumber, those mills will be shutting down indefinitely, putting 210 people out of work. The Ashland mill has been down since last year. The Masardis mill had been down for several months, restarting in May. Gordon said that there is enough lumber at the mills to keep running until August. He said unless the market conditions improve, at that time the mills will be shut down. Fraser says the filing is the result of weak demand and low prices for pulp and lumber, along with scheduled debt repayments and pension funding obligations.
