Albany, New York, July 27, 2009 – Albany International Corp. (NYSE:AIN)
announced today that
it will discontinue
operations at its
forming fabric
manufacturing
facility in
Portland, Tennessee.
The plant closing is
the result of the
continuing
consolidation of
customers in the
U.S. and Canada,
accelerated by the
economic recession,
and the need to
balance the
Company’s paper
machine clothing
(PMC) manufacturing
capacity in North
America with
anticipated paper
mill demand. Similar
steps have been
taken by the Company
over the last few
years in both Europe
and North America,
as the global paper
and paperboard
industry continues
to shift capacity
from traditional
paper markets to new
emerging markets.
This planned action
is a business
necessity, driven by
existing and
expected market
conditions, and in
no way reflects on
the performance of
the 156 affected
employees, who will
be offered severance
and outplacement
assistance.
Transition of
forming fabric
manufacturing from
the Portland area to
other facilities in
North America will
begin at once and
will be supervised
by technical and
manufacturing
personnel to ensure
continuity of
customer supply. The
transition is
expected to be
completed by June
2010.
The Company expects
that, with this
action, its PMC
manufacturing
capacity in the
Americas will be,
for the foreseeable
future, as follows:
forming production
for the Americas
will be centered in
Perth, Ontario,
Canada; Menasha and
Kaukauna, Wisconsin;
and Indaial, Brazil;
press production
will be centered in
St. Stephen, South
Carolina;
Cowansville, Québec,
Canada; Indaial,
Brazil; and
Cuautitlán, Mexico,
and dryer production
in Cuautitlán.
Albany International
is a global advanced
textiles and
materials processing
company. Its core
business is the
world’s leading
producer of
custom-designed
fabrics and belts
essential to the
production of paper
and paperboard.
Albany’s family of
emerging businesses
extends its advanced
textiles and
materials
capabilities into a
variety of other
industries, most
notably aerospace
composites,
nonwovens, building
products, and
high-performance
industrial doors.
Additional
information about
the Company and its
businesses and
products is
available at
http://www.albint.com.
KRUGER INC. TO TEMPORARILY REDUCE PRODUCTION AT ITS QUÉBEC PAPER MILLS
Montréal, Québec, July 31, 2009 – Kruger Inc. today announced that it will temporarily cut back production at its Québec paper mills this August and September, by interrupting production for periods of one to three weeks depending on the paper machines involved.
The Company came to this decision to rebalance its order book in light of a significant drop in demand for various paper grades and unfavourable economic conditions, particularly the high value of the Canadian dollar against the US currency.
Production Interruptions:
Brompton Mill (Sherbrooke):
•
Newsprint production will be interrupted from August 21 to September 8, 2009. Approximately 350 employees will be affected.Trois-Rivières Mill:
•
Coated and supercalendered paper production will be interrupted from August 26 to September 16, 2009, affecting some 450 employees.•
Newsprint production will be interrupted from September 1 to 13, 2009. All of the mill’s paper machines will be shut down during this period and approximately250 additional employees will be affected.
Kruger Wayagamack Mill (Trois-Rivières):
•
Directory paper production will be interrupted from August 31 to September 8, 2009, affecting some 80 employees.•
Coated paper production will continue during this period. With this decision, Kruger Inc. will cut its total production by 26,500 tonnes of newsprint, 7,500 tonnes of coated paper, 4,500 tonnes of supercalendered paper and 2,000 tonnes of directory paper.Founded in 1904, Kruger Inc. is a major producer of publication papers, tissue, lumber and other wood products, corrugated cartons from recycled fibres, green and renewable energy and wines and spirits. The Company is also a leader in paper and paperboard recycling in North America. Kruger operates facilities in Québec, Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, Newfoundland and Labrador, in the United States and the United Kingdom and has 9,000 employees.
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