Document text
The resin plant is one of four in the region operated by Georgia-Pacific Resins Inc. WHITE CITY ' Georgia-Pacific Resins Inc. said Monday that it will halt production at its urea formaldehyde resin plant here, idling 25 workers by mid-November. The subsidiary of Georgia-Pacific Corp., based in Atlanta, has operated the plant at 1405 Antelope Road since October of 1995. Urea formaldehyde resins are primarily used in making composite wood panels such as particleboard and medium density fiberboard. Georgia Pacific Resins President Mario Concha said the sector has been suffering in recent years and economic conditions for its customers had deteriorated as well. The resin plant is one of four operated by Georgia-Pacific in the region. The others are in Albany, Eugene and Oak Grove, Calif., and all produce a wider range of resins and have additional capacity. — As with any business, we're constantly examining the markets, economics and competition, said Tom Moehl, northwest regional manufacturing manager for the chemical resins group. We've been monitoring all of our facilities and things came to an intense mode at this plant probably in about the last six months. The plant has three rotating crews that work 12-hour shifts. Initial layoffs take place later this month and will be wrapped up in mid-November. You can't shut things down overnight, Malone said. Some specific things have to be done to maintain the machinery. Things have to get winterized. Company spokesman James Malone said there are no plans to sell or dismantle the plant. Plant manager Steve Herron and one other employee will stay on to handle maintenance until the market heats up. We're keeping the mechanisms run-ready so when the marketplace rebounds we'll be ready to run it, Malone said. You need to be able to help the other facilities if you can. The company doesn't disclose its pay scale for the non-union workers. Local mill workers typically earn & 36;15 in hourly wages. I'm sure it's above-average wages for most mill workers, said David Hill, executive vice president for the Southern Oregon Timber Industry Association. (The closure) is a little surprising with the uptick in the plywood and particle board prices during the last six months. The company said affected employees are eligible to apply for positions at Georgia-Pacific Resins operations, including Albany, Eugene and Elk Grove, Calif. I anticipate over half of the people will end up at other chemical facilities throughout the Northwest, Malone said. Employees who don't transfer will be subject to the company's severance policy for benefits and insurance. The plant sits on 15 acres and was built by Reichhold Chemicals in 1964. It was operated for two years by Rogue Valley Polymers and RVP Corp. in the 1980s when employment peaked at more than 70 people. According to property records, Dyno Industier A.S. of Oslo, Norway, bought the company in 1987 for & 36;1.33 million and sold it to Georgia Pacific in November of 1995 for & 36;8.5 million. Although GP trimmed staff by nearly 50 percent, it embarked on a & 36;3 million environmental, safety and product quality upgrade project in early 1996. The plant is one of 16 in Georgia-Pacific's Chemical Division, which reported sales of & 36;445 million in 2002, accounting for 2 percent of the company's revenues of & 36;7.055 billion. The company operated 21 plants the year before it purchased the local facility. The division's & 36;334 million sales in 1994 accounted for 4 percent of the company's total sales. The plant's annual manufacturing capacity is 250 million pounds of urea formaldehyde resin, hauled away primarily by tanker truck and 50,000-pound bladder bags on flatbed trucks. Some of it is taken by rail. Oregon's three plants have annually combined to make a billion pounds of the resin.