Cascades Announces Multiple Plant Closures, Price Increase
Smurfit Westrock Permanently Closes Paper Machine At La Tuque Mill Smurfit Westrock has announced it will permanently close one of the paper machines at its La Tuque, Quebec, mill. The machine’s annual production capacity of 127,000 tons of solid bleached sulfate (SBS) has faced ongoing scale and cost challenges. The change is part of the company’s commitment to strengthen its SBS portfolio and ensure the long-term competitiveness of its paperboard operations. Smurfit Westrock will also close the extrusion facility in Pointe-aux-Trembles, Quebec, which converts grades pro- duced on the La Tuque machine. The closures will result in a limited workforce reduction of approximately 30 at La Tuque and approximately 60 at Pointe-aux-Trembles. The company will provide support to employees includ- ing career transition assistance and relocation opportuni- ties where possible. Impacted employees will receive local severance in accordance with company policy and labor union agreements. “This was a difficult but necessary decision to align with market realities and strengthen our long-term posi- tion,” said Laurent Sellier, president and CEO of Smurfit Westrock, North America Region. “We remain committed to our people, our operations in Canada and to delivering reliable, quality service to our customers.”
Kingsey Falls, Quebec based Cascades chose to exit the two niche packaging markets and is “committed to opti- mizing its operating platform and business activities by fo- cusing on its strategic markets as a partner of choice for its customers,” according to the announcement. The honeycomb packaging plant in Berthierville that LM Packaging agreed to buy assets from was slated for immediate closure upon the news release, affecting 52 employees. Another honeycomb packaging manufactur- ing facility in York, Pennsylvania, will close by February 19, affecting 37 employees. Cascades cited declines in regional customer demand “no longer ensured profitabil- ity there.” And, the cardboard partition facility in Saint-Cé- saire, Quebec, will end operations by April 17, impacting 25 employees. “Focusing Cascades’ assets on its strategic markets is essential to achieving our optimization and profitability im- provement objectives,” said President and CEO Hugues Simon in a statement. Additionally, Cascades announced a $70 per ton price increase for containerboard to take effect March 2, follow- ing late January announcements for the same level of in- crease from Packaging Corporation of America and Inter- national Paper to take effect March 1.
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8 February 16, 2026
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