RYAM Temporarily Halts Production at Témiscaming, Canada Facility Starting September 15

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On August 26, Rayonier Advanced Materials (RYAM) confirmed it will temporarily suspend remaining production activities at the Témiscaming industrial complex in Quebec, Canada, effective September 15, with no defined end date for the shutdown. The halt is expected to affect approximately 400 unionized workers, as well as management and other employees.

The shutdown covers production activities currently still in operation at the complex, while wastewater treatment facilities and Boiler No. 4 will continue to run. RYAM has not yet determined a timeline for resuming production. The company attributed the decision to the 50% U.S. tariffs imposed on certain Canadian goods starting August 22, as well as ongoing market pressures in the paperboard and pulp businesses.

Témiscaming currently primarily produces paperboard and high-yield pulp. According to RYAM filings, the site has an annual paperboard capacity of 180,000 tonnes and an annual high-yield pulp capacity of 290,000 tonnes, of which approximately 60,000 tonnes of high-yield pulp is used internally for paperboard production. In the second quarter of 2026, the company's net sales from its paperboard and high-yield pulp business increased 10% year-over-year, with total sales volume up 22%, including a 15% increase in paperboard volume and a 29% increase in high-yield pulp volume.

The shutdown affects the paperboard and high-yield pulp operations still running at the Témiscaming site. The facility's high-purity cellulose plant had already been indefinitely idled in July 2024, and RYAM decided in the first quarter of 2026 to permanently cease dissolving pulp production at the site; some former high-purity cellulose facilities had continued to operate, providing energy and other infrastructure services for the paperboard and high-yield pulp operations.

RYAM had been evaluating divestiture options for the Témiscaming paperboard and high-yield pulp assets. The company's filings from late 2025 indicate that the asset sale process was still progressing, with continued engagement with potential counterparties.