Friday, June 23, 2017 11:15 am

HIGH PRAIRIE, Alberta (News release) -- Tolko Industries Ltd. says it is restarting its oriented strand board mill, located near High Prairie, Alberta.

The mill has been closed since 2008 when North American housing starts fell to a generational low, resulting in a loss of markets for oriented strand board. With markets improving and optimism that housing starts will maintain upward momentum, the decision has been made to restart the mill, with production expected to begin in the first quarter of 2018.

"We're very happy to get this mill back up and running - it's good news for our people and for northern Alberta," commented Brad Thorlakson, President and CEO of Tolko. "We are confident that current improvements in market conditions are sustainable and that customer demand for Tolko oriented strand board products will remain strong."

When fully operational, the mill will employ approximately 175 people directly, support a contractor logging workforce, and generate many indirect employment opportunities in the community.

This is in addition to the 330 people currently employed at the Tolko High Level lumber mill and the 150 people currently employed at the Athabasca (Slave Lake) OSB mill. With the restart of High Prairie, Tolko will support over 1,500 combined direct and indirect jobs in rural communities in Alberta.

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