Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, 26 August 2008 -- Ainsworth Lumber Co. Ltd. today announced the permanent closure of the company’s oriented strand board (OSB) mill in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, effective immediately.

The mill had not been in operation since September 2006.

“We made the very difficult decision to permanently close the facility following a strategic review of the mill’s ability to be competitive both today and over the longer term,” said Robert Allen, chief executive officer. “Given a variety of factors, including our business outlook, the structural challenges of operating in this region, and the condition of the mill at the time it was delivered to us by Potlatch, we simply cannot rationalize making the significant investment required to make the mill economically viable.”

Ainsworth will work with the affected employees, governments, and the union to mitigate the effects of this closure.

When operations were suspended in September 2006, the Grand Rapids operation employed approximately 190 people and had an annual production capacity of 390 million square feet (3/8-inch basis).

The Grand Rapids mill was built in 1980 and was acquired by Ainsworth in 2004 as part of the acquisition of Potlatch Corporation’s OSB business.

Ainsworth will continue to have a significant presence in Minnesota, with OSB manufacturing facilities in Bemidji and Cook having a combined annual production capacity of approximately 800 million square feet (3/8-inch basis).

www.ainsworth.ca