Florence Spurs Closures of Lumber, Paper Mills in Carolinas

Bloomberg News Agency (New York, N.Y., USA) reported recently (Sept. 16, 2018) that Hurricane Florence forced lumber and paper mills in the Carolinas to close temporarily as strong winds and a deluge of rain hit the coast. Major lumber and paper mills were in the Category 2 storm’s path, and producers raced to secure equipment and sites as Florence made landfall, said Ewell Smith, executive director of the Carolina Loggers Association.

"It’s a massive threat" with the industry accounting for $29 billion in North Carolina’s economy, Smith said in a telephone interview with Bloomberg. "We don’t know what the impact will be."

Canfor, one of Canada’s largest lumber producers, closed its Conway and Darlington mills in South Carolina and is encouraged all employees in the hurricane’s path to evacuate, spokeswoman Michelle Ward said in an email to Bloomberg.

In South Carolina, Domtar closed the Marlboro paper mill and the Tatum converting site, along with the Plymouth, North Carolina, pulp mill, and operations will resume as soon as "it is safe to do so following the storm," spokesman Stefan Nowicki said in a statement.

The company was and is monitoring the ongoing weather / flooding issues closely for "potential impact" to other operations in South Carolina and Georgia, he said. Domtar has plans in place to minimize the potential impact to customers.

International Paper also has facilities in the Carolinas. Spokesman Tom Ryan said the company will disclose any storm impact it occurs.

A lot of mills "were really in the eye of the storm," said Bernard Rose, operations manager of fiber supply at KapStone Paper & Packaging, which closed one of its paper mills in Charleston, North Carolina, and a lumber mill in Summerville, South Carolina.