Cascades is announcing a 10 million dollar investment at its East Angus mill in the Eastern Townships

EAST ANGUS, QC, May 31 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Alain Lemaire, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cascades, Mario Plourde, President and Chief Operating Officer of Cascades Specialty Products Group, and Robert G. Roy, mayor of East Angus, will break ground today for a 10 million dollar investment at the Cascades East Angus mill. The investment will be used to build a recycled pulp unit that will enable the production of kraft type recycled pulp.

A new building will be added to the premises to house a pulper, loading platforms and a warehouse for waste paper. This unit will be able to convert daily more than 200 tonnes of old corrugated cardboard (OCC) into recycled pulp. This integration will also enable Cascades to increase the recycled content of its kraft papers from 43% to 70%.

Despite a difficult market, Cascades continues to invest in the production of environmentally sound paper products. "The East Angus plant initiated a shift a few years ago towards products that were more respectful of the environment. The integration of recycled content and the obtention of the FSC certification were some of the actions that were implemented, but also the reduction of water and energy consumption", commented Mario Plourde. Whether it is for the production of envelopes, bags, packaging or construction products, Cascades kraft papers will better serve its diversified customers by offering eco-friendly advantages.

Moreover, the old corrugated cardboard that will be converted will come from the company's sorting centers. "This investment integrates perfectly with our desire to include maximum recycled fibre content in our products, stated Alain Lemaire. It is an effective way of reusing local materials that would have probably ended up in a landfill site, while ensuring the longevity of the plant."

A large employer in the region, Cascades will make many people happy with this development which aims to invigorate. For the mayor of the city, "this project is to the credit of Cascades, by choosing this plant to make a major investment in order to ensure the survival of the first kraft paper mill in Canada."

Cascades Specialty Products Group is a leader in Industrial Packaging, Consumer Product Packaging, Specialty Papers, Recovery and Recycling. The Group has 44 business units located in North America and Europe and employs over 2500 people. With its experience in recycling and continued efforts in research and development, Cascades' philosophy is to provide environmental and innovative solutions to its customers.

Founded in 1964, Cascades produces, converts and markets packaging and tissue products composed mainly of recycled fibres. Cascades employs close to 12,500 employees who work in more than 100 production units located in North America and Europe. Cascades' management philosophy, its more than 45 years of experience in recycling, its continued efforts in research and development are strengths which enable the company to create new products for its customers. The Cascades' shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol CAS.

Certain statements in this release, including statements regarding future results and performance, are forward-looking statements (as such term is defined under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) based on current expectations. The accuracy of such statements is subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected, including, but not limited to, the effect of general economic conditions, decreases in demand for the Company's products, increases in raw material costs, fluctuations in selling prices and adverse changes in general market and industry conditions and other factors listed in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings.

SOURCE CASCADES INC.