The closure is the final stage of Paperlinx's plan to abandon paper manufacturing, and the company announced that it was to shut down its Tasmanian Wesley Vale operation in December.

It is estimated that the two closures have resulted in over 252 job cuts.

Paperlinx said the overall net cash cost of the exit from Tasmania is AUS$10-20m (£6m - £12m). The total cash costs of closure, before recovery of working capital and the sale of assets would be around AUS$120m.

The full year 2010 results for Paperlinx for the year ended 30 June 2010 will include after tax significant items of around AUS$170m, including non-cash accounting items as a result of the closure.

Some AUS$134m of this was included in the first half result, with the balance in the second half.

Tom Park, Paperlinx managing director, said it has been a long and complex process.

"While it is disappointing that we have not been able to find a suitable outcome for the Burnie operations, we do believe that we have reached an outcome that is in the best interests of Paperlinx and it shareholders," he said.

He added that the business is pleased it has been able to complete its exit from paper manufacturing at a lower cost than initially thought.

Paperlinx is now a sole merchanting company, and distributes paper, sign and display and graphics materials, as well as packaging products.