Columbia Forest Products Declares Permanent Closure of Trumann, Arkansas Mill Facility

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Columbia Forest Products- North America’s largest manufacturer of hardwood plywood and hardwood veneer products has announced plans to permanently close its Trumann, Arkansas facility. The permanent closure of the mill is expected sometime this fall, company press release said.

The company has decided to cease all its hardwood plywood production activities at the facility. All pending orders for panel products manufactured at this facility will be served by other production sites within the North American region. Almost 50% of the plant’s employees have been released. The remaining employees will continue to remain until all orders and machinery are relocated to company’s other plants.

According to Greg Pray, President and CEO of Columbia Forest Products, the company has been fighting a long and challenging battle against unfair and imbalanced Chinese trade practices. The company has succumbed to significant loss of business due to sustained impact of imported Chinese cabinets and hardwood plywood, thereby eroding the company’s market opportunities. It could not afford to operate the facility at a loss, hoping the markets to recover in future, he added.

Recently, Columbia Forest Products had announced plans to re-open its Rutherglen, Ont. hardwood veneer mill by spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on repairing the cracks in the facility’s roof, which had led to shutdown of the mill in January this year.