Saint-Thomas-Didyme (Quebec), June 20, 2018 – Resolute announced today investments totalling $12.3 million in three sawmills, Saint-Thomas, Girardville, and Mistassini, and in the Normandin planer mill, which are all located in Maria-Chapdelaine regional county municipality in the Lac-Saint-Jean region. The announcement was made during the inauguration of the new equipment installed at the Saint-Thomas sawmill, which was attended by Gilles Tremblay and Alain Tremblay, city councillors of Saint-Thomas-Didyme, as well as other dignitaries and company employees.
“Investments finalized during the past year and a half will allow us to optimize our manufacturing processes in several areas and also increase the production capacity of our equipment,” said Yves Laflamme, president and chief executive officer. Some improvement projects will make it possible for us to acquire new equipment, including an automatic sticker placer and packaging system, a sorting bin and a feed tray for the saw lines, and a kiln. Other projects will enable us to replace some equipment, including log and board sorting system optimizers, a planer, and log handling machinery. Several of the new technologies utilized in our installations have been designed by companies located in the region. “The investments will be used to integrate new technologies into the manufacturing processes in our facilities to sustain the continuous optimization of their performance in an ever-changing competitive environment. We know that we can reply on our employees’ innovation, dedication, and pride in their work,” remarked David Côté, Saint-Thomas sawmill manager.
These investments are in addition to the strategic investment plan of more than $80 million that was recently announced for the first two quarters of the year, which will improve several wood product facilities as well as Resolute’s pulp mill in Quebec. Resolute employs nearly 5,000 people in Quebec.
