Kruger Products Invests Nearly $10 Million in Employee Training at Its New Sherbrooke Plant

Sherbrooke, Québec, June 25, 2020 – Kruger Products L.P. today announced it is investing $9 904 926 to establish a customized training program for future employees at its new Sherbrooke plant. In collaboration with the Industrial Training Centre of Excellence in Windsor, Québec, almost 200,000 hours of training, or the equivalent of 30 weeks of paid training per employee, will be given to 180 new hires who will be working in a highly automated environment where technology will be ubiquitous. The new training program has received support from the Québec Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Solidarity, which is reimbursing up to 50% of eligible costs, through the MFOR program.

The announcement was made in the presence of Jean Boulet, Member of Saint-François, Mrs Geneviève Hébert, Minister of Labour, Employment and Social Solidarity; Steve Lussier, Mayor of Sherbrooke; Patrice Bégin, General Manager, Kruger Products, Sherbrooke Plant; and Nadia Lamothe, Human Resources Manager, Operations, Kruger Products.

“The new program is specifically tailored to the needs of our new plant; it offers a wide range of specialized training to enable both university graduates and applicants with little or no pulp and paper experience to build a career at Kruger Products,” said Ms. Nadia Lamothe.

She added: “The extraordinary demand for our products at the start of the pandemic and these past few months has shown us that we are making products that are truly essential for the population. We are proud to offer our employees customized training that will allow them to develop unique skills to operate Canada’s most advanced tissue plant with state-of-the-art equipment and technology while manufacturing products that meet the needs of consumers.”

Customized training

The first cohort of new employees started a few weeks ago with theoretical and practical training in fields as diverse as operations, mechanical and electrical maintenance, engineering, logistics, procurement, management, supervision and administration. Their practical training will begin with the startup of the first production equipment in July 2020 and will continue until July 2022.

The Sherbrooke Plant will be drawing on the expertise of its own Engineering and Operations Departments to carry out the program, and is pleased to also be able to count on the invaluable assistance of equipment manufacturers, suppliers and community partners such as the Windsor Industrial Training Centre of Excellence.

Kruger Product’s new tissue plant in Sherbrooke

Located in the Brompton Borough, the new plant represents a $575-million investment and will include a through-air-dry (TAD) tissue machine equipped with the world’s most advanced ultra-premium tissue product manufacturing technology. TAD uses less fibre to obtain a plusher, stronger ultra-premium product that is exceptionally soft and more absorbent. The Sherbrooke complex will also include converting lines. In addition, a large number of local suppliers are involved in this enormous construction site that represents one million person-hours of work, or the equivalent of about 10% of person-hours worked annually in Québec’s industrial construction sector.

About Kruger Products L.P.

Kruger Products L.P. is Canada’s leading manufacturer of quality tissue products for household, industrial and commercial use. KPLP serves the Canadian consumer market with such well-known brands as Cashmere^®, Purex^®, SpongeTowels^®, Scotties^®‘ and White Swan^®. In the U.S., KPLP manufactures the White Cloud^® brand, as well as many private label products. The Away-From-Home division manufactures and distributes high-quality, cost-effective solutions to a wide range of commercial and public entities. KPLP has approximately 2,500 employees and operates eight FSC® (FSC® C104904) certified plants in North America. For more information, visit www.krugerproducts.ca.

About Kruger Inc.

Kruger Products L.P.’s parent company, Kruger Inc., is a third-generation family company headquartered in Montréal since its foundation in 1904. Kruger Inc. is a major producer of tissue products; 100% recycled containerboard products; corrugated packaging; publication papers; specialty papers; renewable energy; cellulosic biomaterials; and wines and spirits. The Company is also a leader in paper and paperboard recycling in North America. Kruger Inc. has facilities in Québec, Ontario, British Columbia, and Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as in Tennessee, Maine, New York, Virginia and Rhode Island in the United States.