PRODUCTION has been stopped at a troubled Cheshire paper mill while administrators try to sell the business.
The administrators from Ernst & Young, who were called in to the Bridgewater Paper Company (BPCL) in Ellesmere Port last week, have also sent more staff home as they continue their hunt for an investor.
Another 163 employees at the plant, which employs more than 300 people, have now been placed “on temporary lay-off”. It follows the decision last week to temporarily lay off 108 people.
One worker at the company told LDP Business that the news was a crushing blow after the plant had just enjoyed one of its most successful years on record.
He said staff were convinced the plant had a bright future if the administrators could secure new investment.
Tom Jack, joint administrator, said: “This is an extremely unfortunate situation for all employees affected. However, we are extremely grateful for the support and commitment the employees have given during this time of uncertainty.
“We are holding discussions with a number of potential interested parties, and are continuing to fulfil customer orders from stock while the sale of the business process continues.”
Canadian parent company AbitibiBowater placed Bridgewater into administration last Tuesday.
In a statement, it said: “The BPCL board made this decision only after all options to keep these UK operations solvent were exhausted.”
AbitibiBowater’s president and chief executive officer, David J Paterson, said: “We recognise the impact the filing has on our UK employees and business partners; however, these actions were necessary and represent the best course of action going forward.
“Throughout the BPCL administration filing, AbitibiBowater will help ensure European customers continue to receive quality products and service, free of business interruptions.”
AbitibiBowater, which calls itself “the eighth largest publicly traded pulp and paper manufacturer in the world”, last year filed for bankruptcy protection in Canada and the US, and is still involved in a major restructuring exercise.
The group was formed in 2007 through a merger of US company Bowater and Canada's Abitibi-Consolidated. It owns or operates 23 pulp and paper facilities and 28 wood products processing centres in the United States, Canada, the UK and South Korea.
It is among the world’s largest recyclers of old newspapers and magazines.
BPCL subsidiaries Cheshire Recycling and Abitibi-Consolidated Europe are not affected by this administration.
