West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. will permanently close the No. 1 pulp machine and wood room at its pulp mill in Hinton, AB in the fourth quarter of 2006. About 100 jobs will be lost.

Annual production capacity of NBSK will fall by about 70 000 tonnes. After-tax charges will amount to about $25 million in the first quarter of 2006. West Fraser says it will spend about $20 million over the next two years to increase speed and productivity on the No. 2 pulp machine.

West Fraser acquired Hinton Pulp in December 2004 with the purchase of Weldwood. In 2005, Hinton produced 420 000 tonnes of NBSK market pulp, which was sold worldwide. www.westfraser.com.

• Also in western Canada, Western Forest Products Inc. (WFP) finalized the $C47.7-million purchase of the Englewood logging division on Vancouver Island. The division was formerly owned by Canfor Corp. which transferred ownership to a partnership between it and Oji Paper Canada Ltd. Western has signed a 40-year chip- and log-supply deal with the partnership to provide fiber for the Howe Sound paper mill. WFP also left the pulp business when it permanently shut its Squamish, BC, pulp mill. www.canfor.com. PI