BREAKEYVILLE, QC, – Earlier today, Alain Lemaire, President and CEO of Cascades, and Luc Langevin, President and COO of Cascades Specialty Products Group, inaugurated the recent addition of $3.7 million in new deinking equipment at the Cascades Fine Papers Group, Breakey Fibres mill. Strategically focused on producing deinked kraft pulp of the highest quality, this strategic investment will drive improvements in the quality of Cascades' fine papers, while also protecting jobs.

Started in 2010, this initiative required the addition of several types of equipment, including a flotation cell, washers/thickeners, a disperser and a clarifier, and it also involved the expansion of the building located in Breakeyville (Quebec).  Committed to sustainable development, Cascades took its focus on recovery to a whole new level by sourcing equipment from various plants.  Mr. Lemaire said, "This investment shows our commitment to maintaining our competitive edge in a down economy and challenging market situation.  We believe that innovation is the key to our company's growth."

As a result of this investment, pulp quality has greatly improved.  Visible dirt and glue residue have each decreased 50%, while the whiteness has slightly increased.  "We consider this to be a very significant benefit, especially as the quality of raw materials - waste paper to be recycled - is declining more and more. We believe this investment will allow us to remain competitive in continuing to offer high quality recycled products," said Mr. Langevin.

Since 1985, the Breakey Fibres mill has specialized in the manufacture of recycled deinked kraft pulp, mainly used in the production of Cascades' fine papers, such as the Rolland Enviro100 family of products.

Cascades Specialty Products Group is a leader in Industrial Packaging, Consumer Product Packaging, Specialty Papers, Recovery and Recycling. The Group has 48 business units located in North America and Europe and employs over 2500 people.

Founded in 1964, Cascades produces, converts and markets packaging and tissue products composed mainly of recycled fibres. Cascades employs close to 11,000 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.