A flax-processing plant in southern Manitoba will shut its doors at the end of 2021.
Schweitzer Maudit, SVM, a materials company that manufactures papers, adhesive tapes, resins, nets and other products, has operated its Manitoba plant since 1985.
A company representative confirmed it will close in four months.
“We have made the decision to close our Winkler facility (which includes both sites of Winkler and Carman), with an anticipated closure date of Dec. 31, 2021,” the SVM spokesperson said in an email.
The Winkler plant converts flax straw into tow — the raw material for cigarette papers. The flax tow from Winkler was shipped to SVM’s cigarette paper plant in New Jersey.
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In late 2020, SVM stopped operating its New Jersey facility.
“(The closure) was driven by a key customer’s decision to source a different product that did not fit the capabilities of the Spotswood (New Jersey) location,” the company rep said. “Although SVM pursued alternative business models that would allow us to continue to operate our Winkler facility, we were unable to find an option that could successfully sustain our operation.”
SVM has already contacted farmers who supply the Manitoba plant with flax straw.
In 2010, the federal and Manitoba governments invested about $600,000 into an expansion of SVM flax processing in southern Manitoba. The company also invested $485,000.
SVM operates in Brazil, China, Europe and North America. In 2020, it reported revenue of US$1.07 billion.
