“We really needed to find a great pulp mill”: Kruger celebrates purchase of Kamloops operation

KAMLOOPS — The new owners of the Kamloops pulp mill say the former Domtar operation fits perfectly into their future plans.

The mill’s acquisition by Montreal-based Kruger was finalized this week. Some of Kruger’s top brass were in Kamloops Wednesday (June 1) for a celebration ceremony to mark the occasion.

“We really needed to find a great pulp mill and we found one in the Kamloops facility,” Chief Financial Officer (CFO) David Angel told CFJC Today. “We’re incredibly happy to welcome our new 320 Kamloops colleagues in the Kruger group. This is a world class facility with a phenomenal track record in terms of performance, quality and employee safety — so we’re very proud to call Kamloops home from now on. We’re proud to become part of the Kamloops community.”

Kruger produces well-known household products including Purex toilet paper, Scotties facial tissue and SpongeTowels paper towels. Angel says the Kamloops mill will help the company guard against supply chain disruptions.

“We’ll continue to operate as usual, honoring all volume commitments and agreements with customers and suppliers. But with today’s supply chain disruptions, we now are secure that, if anything were to happen, we could certainly support our tissue business with the raw materials that they would need.”

Speaking to CFJC Today after the acquisition was first made public last month, Wesley Mitchell of Unifor Local 10-B said unionized workers are largely relieved that their new owners are a stable, Canadian-based company. The union declined comment for this story.

Angel says stability is what the employees can expect.

“From the start, we’re not about to change things radically in any way. Over the next few weeks and months, we’ll ensure a smooth transition for everyone,” he said. “We’re not here to change things, but rather to support and empower mill management and operations to make sure that they can keep doing the great work that they’ve been doing.”

“Kruger is absolutely known for its ability and its approach to sustainability. We are always striving to lower our environmental footprints and we have also, very importantly, a deep respect for our First Nations and their ancestral rights.”

The mill has been operating off Mission Flats Road on the bank of the Thompson River since 1965. It was acquired by Weyerhaeuser in 1971 and by Domtar in 2007.