THUNDER BAY – Northwestern Ontario's Resolute Forest Products mills are getting a rebrand.
Paper Excellence Group, the company that bought Resolute Forest Products, on Thursday announced it will operate under the Domtar brand.
The company, in late 2021, acquired Domtar Corporation in a $3-billion deal and two years later purchased Resolute Forest Products in a $2.7-billion deal.
In a release issued on Thursday, Paper Excellence group said the rebranding the mills under the Domtar name, represents a strategic alignment of the companies’ strengths, resources and expertise and will create a stronger organization poised for future growth and innovation.
"Today marks a new and important chapter in Domtar’s journey, representing the bright future ahead of us," said John D. Williams, non-executive chairman of the management board of Domtar (and its sister organizations), in the release.
"As a fully integrated company, we are better positioned to deliver for our customers, strengthen relationships with our key stakeholders and drive innovation across our industry. As a result of the integration, we now have a company that boasts the best of our three legacy companies and is poised to pursue and achieve future growth and success. Our new brand is a reflection of our shared mission to lead with purpose and impact.”
Domtar’s corporate offices will remain in Fort Mill, S.C., Richmond, B.C. and Montreal. The company says there will be no change to its physical location or production footprint as a result of the name change.
Domtar operates three sawmill in the region, one in Thunder Bay/Fort William First Nation, one in Sapawe near Atikokan and one in Ignace.
According to a Dontar spokesperson, rebranding the mills will be a months long process. The products made in the region's mills will still be sold under their legacy branding.
As a condition of the acquisition by Paper Excellence, in 2023 Resolute Forest Products sold Thunder Bay Pulp and Paper to Atlas Holdings, but continues to supply chips and biomass to the mill.
Earlier this year, Paper Excellence learned it would not have its sustainability certification cancelled by the International Forest Stewardship Council over its ties to Indonesia’s Asia Pulp & Paper and its record related to rainforest destruction.
