VANCOUVER, British Columbia, July 24, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Western Forest Products Inc. (TSX: WEF) (“Western” or the “Company”) announced today a temporary curtailment at its Ladysmith sawmill in part due to action taken by the United Steelworkers Local 1-1937 (“USW”) which has impeded log supply to the mill. Operations will be curtailed once log supply is depleted, which is expected to occur on or before August 1, 2019.

“We’ve had to make the decision to temporarily curtail operations at Ladysmith due to a lack of log supply in part due to the United Steelworkers’ decision to take strike action and prevent the movement of logs, amidst challenging market conditions,” said Don Demens, President & CEO of Western. “We commend Ladysmith employees who have demonstrated tremendous dedication to running a safe and high-performing operation. Going forward, we will continue to monitor log availability and market conditions to determine when we can resume operations.”

The temporary curtailment impacts 67 unionized employees at the Ladysmith sawmill who are represented by the Public and Private Workers of Canada. The current strike action by the USW, the union representing approximately 1,500 of the Company’s hourly employees and 1,500 employees working for the Company’s timberland operators and contractors in British Columbia, commenced on July 1, 2019.

About Western Forest Products Inc.

Western is an integrated forest products company building a margin-focused log and lumber business to compete successfully in global softwood markets. With operations and employees located primarily on the coast of British Columbia and Washington State, Western is a premier supplier of high-value, specialty forest products to worldwide markets. Western has a lumber capacity in excess of 1.1 billion board feet from eight sawmills and four remanufacturing facilities. The Company sources timber from its private lands, long-term licenses, First Nations arrangements, and market purchases. Western supplements its production through a wholesale program providing customers with a comprehensive range of specialty products.

Forward-looking Statements

This press release contains statements that may constitute forward-looking statements under the applicable securities laws. Readers are cautioned against placing undue reliance on forward-looking statements. All statements herein, other than statements of historical fact, may be forward-looking statements and can be identified by the use of words such as “will”, “may”, “expect” and similar references to future periods. Although such statements reflect management’s current reasonable beliefs, expectations and assumptions, there can be no assurance that forward-looking statements are accurate, and actual results or performance may materially vary. Many factors could cause our actual results or performance to be materially different, including a change in the Company’s financial situation, general economic conditions and other factors referenced under the “Risks and Uncertainties” section of our MD&A in our 2018 Annual Report dated February 12, 2019.

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