At Kruger, we have shut down nearly 45% of our facilities since 2010, including machines at all of our plants: two in Newfoundland and Labrador, five in Trois-Rivières, two in Wayagamack, in Cap-de-la-Madeleine, and one at our plant in Bromptonville last November. In the first quarter of 2015, global demand for newsprint dropped nearly 10% compared to 2014. It's clear that the market is declining. Under the circumstances we have two priorities: lower our costs to stay alive, of course, and try to find new opportunities for our plants. We are doing this through research and development projects, such as those on cellulose filaments. Obviously this is a longer process that doesn't get up and running in three years.
Some product development groups are trying to find new products that we can manufacture with our paper machines. We are also considering transforming plants to manufacture completely different products in growing markets, while still remaining in the pulp and paper field. Right now there are two growing markets in Canada and the world: tissue and packaging products, cardboard, and others.
You asked how the government could help. That was what I talked about in my speech earlier. Since the market is currently declining and this has a negative impact on our finances, we are limited in what we can finance. I think that the federal and provincial governments should continue to support the industry through research and development, not just for technology and new products, but also for the retrofit of our plants.
It's all well and good to develop a technology, but if bringing it to market requires an investment of $50 million, $100 million or $150 million, the pulp and paper industry will not have the necessary financial resources. We need to find a way to support the industry so that it can finance these projects.