Stimson: Finger-joint closure permanent
by Brent Shrum, Kootenai Valley Record
December 4, 2008
Stimson Lumber Co. has made it official – the Libby finger-joint plant won’t be reopening.
After a period of curtailed operation, the company shut down the plant in August, telling employees they would be out of work for at least nine months. Stimson’s 30 local employees have now been given a severance package and told the shutdown is permanent, said plant manager Charlie Croucher.
The Libby plant catered to the now depressed new home market, Croucher said.
With the global economic downturn, Stimson didn’t see any relief on the horizon, he said. Croucher is still holding onto some hope that the plant could get back into operation under new management, however.
"It’s a good little plant," he said. "It could do that."
The building housing the finger-joint plant, along with the land on which it sits, was donated to the Lincoln County Port Authority after Stimson closed its Libby plywood plant in late 2002. The company still owns the finger-joint equipment, however, and has been leasing the building for a nominal fee.
The Libby finger-joint plant was Stimson’s last facility in Montana. The Portland, Ore. based company closed its sawmill in Bonner last December and made the shutdown permanent earlier this year. Stimson owns around 100,000 acres of timber land in Montana, however. _______________________________________
Editor’s Note: See the December 2, 2008 edition of the Kootenai Valley Record for the printed version of this story. The Kootenai Valley Record publishes once a week, now on Tuesday, in Libby, Montana. They are a locally owned community newspaper, located at 403 Mineral Avenue in Libby. For in-county and out-of-county subscription information, call 406-293-2424, or e-mail kvrecord@gmail.com.
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