April 28, 2008 - Weyerhaeuser on Friday said that it will permanently close its oriented strand board (OSB) plant located in Miramichi, New Brunswick, Canada, on June 6.

The facility has not operated since January 2007, Weyerhaeuser said.

“We worked hard to sell the facility for more than one year,” said Craig Neeser, president of Weyerhaeuser’s Canadian operations. “A lack of buyer interest, the continuing poor state of the U.S. housing market and the high cost of maintaining this idled site led to the company’s decision to permanently close the facility.”

The company said it will continue to entertain serious offers for the facility until June 6, 2008.

“Many parties worked in good faith for a different outcome, including local and provincial governments and Weyerhaeuser Company representatives,” Neeser said. “It is unfortunate that these considerable efforts did not attract a viable new owner.”

“This difficult decision is the result of today’s challenging business environment and unprecedented weakness in the U.S. housing market,” Neeser added.

SOURCE: Weyerhaeuser Company