In the past ten years, the Cariboo Regional District, where the production site is located, has been facing increasing pressure when it comes to log supply. Apart from the mountain pine beetle epidemic, the devastating forest fires of 2017 and 2018 have further exacerbated the situation in British Columbia, according to Norbord.
Due to the scarcity of log wood and high timber prices, it would not be economically viable to continue production in the100 Mile House plant. Norbord is going to satisfy the current demand and process future orders with the output of its other eleven OSB production sites in North America. This includes plants in High Level and Grande Prairie in Alberta province.
“It is a very difficult decision which was, however, necessary because of the extraordinary circumstances”, comments Peter Wijnbergen, President of Norbord. 160 employees are affected by the closure. The OSB plant in 100 Mile House has an annual production capacity of 440 million square feet (about 40 million m²).
