Commissioners OK purchase of Stimson finger joint plant
by Kootenai Valley Record
June 5, 2009
The Stimson finger-joint plant in Libby will be county property under the terms of an agreement approved last week by the county commissioners.
The commissioners voted last week to buy the plant, with nearly all of the associated equipment, from the lumber company for $127,000. The county plans to hold onto the plant until a buyer is found who will get the facility back up and running.
"There is some interest floating around out there, but it’s pretty spooky with the housing market the way it is," said Commissioner John Konzen.
Konzen said he expects the market to turn around, however, and doesn’t think the county will have much trouble making its money back.
"We view it as a relatively cheap investment to have approximately 25 to 35 jobs," he said.
Stimson shut down the plant last August due to a slowdown in the housing market and announced in November that the facility would not be reopened.
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 retained ownership of the equipment, however, and has been leasing the building for a nominal fee.
The county’s plan to buy the plant was given momentum by reports that Stimson was planning to auction off the equipment. The company initially estimated the value of the plant at $300,000 to $500,000, Konzen said, but a purchase price of $127,000 was eventually negotiated with the help of Kootenai River Development Council director Paul Rumelhart.
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Editor’s Note: See the June 2, 2009 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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