Abitibi-Consolidated and Louisiana-Pacific announce construction of a new engineered wood facility in Saint-Prime, Quebec - Cont
December 13 2004 - 1:23PM
PR Newswire (US)
Abitibi-Consolidated and Louisiana-Pacific announce construction of
a new engineered wood facility in Saint-Prime, Quebec - Continued
commitment to value-added wood products SAINT-PRIME, QC, Dec. 13
/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Abitibi-LP Engineered Wood Inc., the
joint venture involving Abitibi-Consolidated Inc. (TSX: A; NYSE:
ABY) and Louisiana-Pacific Corporation (LP) (NYSE:LPX), is pleased
to announce the construction of its second engineered wood facility
to produce I- joists. The new facility, jointly owned by
Abitibi-Consolidated and LP, will be an expansion of
Abitibi-Consolidated's Saint-Prime mill, in the
Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean region of Quebec, and constitutes an
investment of approximately CAN$13 million, plus the existing mill.
Annual production capacity will be 75 million linear feet, with
operations set to begin in the fall of 2005. The project has the
potential to create approximately 40 new jobs, in addition to the
125 jobs at the existing Saint-Prime mill. With this new facility,
Abitibi-LP Engineered Wood will become the largest manufacturer of
solid sawn I-joists in North America. "This new facility is a clear
demonstration of Abitibi-Consolidated's commitment to continued
investment in the growing market of value-added wood products. This
is the second facility in which Abitibi-LP Engineered Wood has
invested in the region and we are confident that it will be another
winning combination for both our companies," said Yves Laflamme,
Vice-President, Sales, Marketing & Value-Added Wood Products,
of Abitibi-Consolidated. Operations at the new facility will be
overseen by Abitibi-Consolidated. "Market demand for I-joists is
expected to continue to grow significantly over the next decade.
The complementary manufacturing competencies, product lines, and
marketing capabilities of Abitibi-Consolidated and LP will provide
quality value-added products to respond to this growth," said Patch
Bonkemeyer, LP's General Manager for Engineered Wood Products. The
I-joists will be marketed under LP's brand and targeted at
distributors, retailers, contractors, architects and engineers.
I-joists, a high-value wood product derived from the transformation
of small pieces of high-density black spruce, are commonly used in
residential building and commercial floor construction. The
increase in demand can be attributed to I-joists' unique
properties: dimensional stability, availability in a range of
widths and lengths, wider nailing surface and improved structural
properties. Abitibi-Consolidated is a global leader in newsprint
and uncoated groundwood (value-added groundwood) papers as well as
a major producer of wood products, generating sales of CAN$5.4
billion in 2003. The Company owns or is a partner in 27 paper
mills, 22 sawmills, 4 remanufacturing facilities and 2 engineered
wood facilities in Canada, the U.S., the UK, South Korea, China and
Thailand. With over 15,000 employees, excluding its PanAsia joint
venture, Abitibi-Consolidated does business in approximately 70
countries. Responsible for the forest management of 17.5 million
hectares of woodlands, the Company is committed to the
sustainability of the natural resources in its care.
Abitibi-Consolidated is also the world's largest recycler of
newspapers and magazines, serving 16 metropolitan areas in Canada
and the United States and 130 local authorities in the United
Kingdom, with 14 recycling centers and almost 20,000 Paper
Retriever(R) and paper bank containers. Louisiana-Pacific
Corporation is a premier supplier of commodity and specialty
building products, serving retail, wholesale, homebuilding, and
industrial markets. With more than 6,000 employees and 35
manufacturing facilities in the United States, Canada and Chile, LP
is committed to providing innovative and high quality products, and
the highest level of service for its customers. Its Quebec Division
has more than 600 employees at its three OSB mills and one sawmill.
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS -------------------------- This news
release contains statements concerning Louisiana-Pacific
Corporation's (LP) future results and performance that are forward-
looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The matters address in these
statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and
assumptions that may cause actual results to differ materially from
those contemplated by these, including, but not limited to, the
effect of general economic conditions, including the level of
interest rates and housing starts, market demand for the company's
products, and prices for structural products; the effect of
forestry, land use, environmental and other governmental
regulations; the ability to obtain regulatory approvals, and the
risk of losses from fires, floods and other natural disasters.
These and other factors that could cause or contribute to actual
results differing materially from those contemplated by such
forward-looking statements are discussed in greater detail in the
company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings. I-joists
Product information I-joists are used mainly as floor joists in
woodwork construction. This product is increasing in popularity
because it can replace the 2 X 10s manufactured mainly in western
North America. I -joists are part of the engineered wood family and
are valued for the following qualities: dimensional stability, the
range of widths and lengths available, a wider nailing surface and
better-defined mechanical properties. This is an ideal product to
promote optimum use of the Black Spruce grown in Quebec. To make
I-joists, finger-jointed flanges are glued to an oriented strand
board (OSB) web. Several types of I-joist can be manufactured, the
variants being the height of the joist, the width of the flanges
and the grade of the flanges as determined by the mechanical
resistance parameters. The length of the joists manufactured will
range from 8 to 60 feet. I-joist production stages The manufacture
of I-joists involves three main stages: 1. Jointing of lumber to
obtain flanges; 2. Preparation of oriented strand board (OSB) webs;
3. Assembly of webs and flanges to form I-joists. The manufacture
of finger-jointed flanges begins with classification of pieces,
profiling, and application and curing of the adhesive and it ends
with a tension test to check the resistance of the flanges. To
manufacture the web, OSB panels are cut and profiled so they can be
assembled with the flanges. During assembly, the flanges are then
grooved and the grooves are coated with adhesive. The prepared OSB
panels are inserted continuously into the grooves in the flanges to
form I-joists. To accelerate curing of the adhesive, the joists are
heated in an oven. DATASOURCE: ABITIBI-CONSOLIDATED INC. CONTACT:
Abitibi-Consolidated Inc., Marc Osborne, Manager, Corporate
Communications & Media Relations, (514) 394-2340, ; Lorne
Gorber, Manager, Investor Relations, (514) 394-2360, ;
Louisiana-Pacific Canada Ltd.: Jacques Dalpe, General Manager,
Quebec Division, (514) 861-4841,
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