VANCOUVER, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 16, 2006--Ainsworth Lumber Co. Ltd. ("Ainsworth") (TSX:ANS - News) announced that production has been curtailed at the company's oriented strand board (OSB) facility in Grand Rapids, Minnesota due to a mechanical breakdown of pressing equipment earlier today. The extent of the curtailment is uncertain, but the initial assessment is that the mill will be down for 5 to 7 days. The company will be taking all steps necessary to resume operations at the plant as early as possible. The Grand Rapids facility had resumed production on January 14th following a January 4th fire in the wood strand storage.
In Minnesota, Ainsworth employs approximately 600 employees at their three OSB manufacturing facilities in Grand Rapids, Cook, and Bemidji. The Grand Rapids plant employs 190 people and has an annual production capacity of 390 million square feet (3/8" basis). Headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Ainsworth is North America's fourth largest manufacturer and marketer of OSB. For more information about Ainsworth visit www.ainsworth.ca.
Ainsworth Lumber Co. Ltd.
Bruce Rose, General Manager, Corporate Development
Media and Investor Relations Contact
(604) 661-3200
Fax: (604) 661-3201
bruce.rose@ainsworth.ca
www.ainsworth.ca