Domtar Corp., Montreal, Que., Canada, reports that in recent weeks its Windsor, Que., mill has become the first facility in the Canadian forestry industry to be approved under the Customs Self Assessment Program (CSA-PAD) of the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) for the importation of wood, wood chips, and biomass coming from the U.S.

The Customs Self Assessment Program (CSA) is a stringent process that provides assurance to federal agencies, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) that products (in this case wood fiber) and risk monitoring are all in compliance. The inspection and control of the product being realized to the facility, the passage to customs, is made much more quickly. This makes it easier to import fiber, which represents 25% of the deliveries to the Windsor mill.

"The CSA streamlines the current process for suppliers and transporters of fiber from the U.S. passing through Canadian customs. It reduces the time it takes to cross the border and improves the Windsor mill's ability to compete," noted André Gravel, fiber procurement director at Domtar's Windsor mill.

Domtar Corp, designs, produces, markets, and distributes a wide variety of fiber-based products, including communication papers, specialty and packaging papers, and absorbent hygiene products. It is the largest integrated marketer and manufacturer of uncoated freesheet paper in North America. The company employs approximately 9,800 people.