Catalyst Paper

Catalyst Paper manufactures diverse specialty printing papers, newsprint and pulp for retailers, publishers and commercial printers, have an annual production capacity of 1.8 million tonnes of paper and 500,000 tonnes of pulp, and are headquartered in Richmond, BC, Canada.

We are:
◦ The only western North American producer of coated mechanical paper and SC paper
◦ Among the largest producers of directory paper in the world
◦ The only North American producer of pulp and paper with manufacturing facilities in the West, Midwest and East.

LOCATIONS

Canada

Company History

Today’s Catalyst Paper Corporation is formed of operations from predecessor companies that have their own rich histories.

The main branch of the family tree is British Columbia Forest Products Limited. Formed in 1946, it soon became one of the province’s largest integrated forest products companies. It was purchased in 1987 by Fletcher Challenge Limited of New Zealand and merged with BC company Crown Forest Industries. Fletcher Challenge Canada Limited was thereby established with a sharpened focus on pulp and paper.

In 2000, Norwegian paper company Norske Skog purchased all of Fletcher Challenge’s pulp and paper assets and the company name changed to Norske Skog Canada Limited.

The size of the company doubled in 2001 with the acquisition of Pacifica Papers – operator of paper facilities previously owned by MacMillan Bloedel – and the merged operation assumed the name NorskeCanada.

In 2003, Newstech Recycling was acquired to in-source the supply of de-inked pulp.

In 2005 the business was renamed Catalyst Paper to clearly differentiate the company with customers and to accurately reflect the capital ownership structure.

In 2006, Third Avenue Management acquired approximately 38% of the company’s stock following the exit of Norske Skog as a major shareholder.

In 2008, Catalyst acquired the Snowflake Mill, a 100% recycled paper production facility in northern Arizona, significantly increasing its recycled paper production capacity.

Over the next several years, Catalyst Paper worked intensively to rationalize its operations, reduce its costs, and ensure competitive product positioning in the midst of very challenging industry transformation. This involved closure of some facilities, including its two recycling operations.

In 2015, Catalyst expanded into Mid-Western and Eastern United States by purchasing two of NewPage Corporation’s pulp and paper mills in Rumford, Maine and Biron Wisconsin. This acquisition increased Catalyst’s production capacity by 65% and positioned Catalyst as a leading producer of specialty coated printing papers in North America.

Company Facts

Our Sage line of specialty papers comes with verifiable assurances relating to fibre supply, carbon emissions and mill-level performance. We respond to both the Carbon Disclosure Project and the Forest Footprint Disclosure Project, and all of our mills are chain-of-custody certified to both the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) standards.

Catalyst has been ranked by Corporate Knights magazine as one of the 50 Best Corporate Citizens in Canada for ten consecutive years.

Employing nearly 3,000 employees, Catalyst Paper is a publically traded company with shares trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange (“CYT”).