Laclede mill remains closed

by Conor CHRISTOFFERSON<br
| May 4, 2009 9:00 PM

LACLEDE — The planned reopening of a Laclede lumber mill has been abandoned due to poor economic conditions in the housing industry, according to mill officials.

The mill, owned by the Idaho Forest Group — formerly Riley Creek — ceased production in December with the goal of reopening in May, but chairman Marc Brinkmeyer said continued troubles in the lumber market made the reopening impossible.

“We had hoped to bring Laclede back in May, but the plight of the housing industry won’t allow us to do that,” Brinkmeyer said. “So we’re going to keep Laclede down and the next time we’ll look at the opportunity for operation is in September”

Company officials will reevaluate market conditions in late summer, and positive news could bring the mill back to life, Brinkmeyer said.

Kathryn Tacke, a regional economist with the Idaho Department of Labor, said consensus among her colleagues is that a turnaround in the lumber market will most likely not happen until the end of the year, at the earliest.

“There are some vague glimmers of hope with regard to the housing market that it’s getting pretty close to the bottom, and, therefore, may start turning around. But it doesn’t look all that likely for a while,” Tacke said.

Brinkmeyer said the Laclede facility’s remaining logs were shipped to the company’s other mills last week for processing, and a portion of its equipment was auctioned off.

While news in the industry has been consistently dire, Brinkmeyer said no changes are planned for the company’s remaining mills. Facilities in Chilco and Grangeville are continuing with a normal, two-shift production schedule and the company’s Moyie Springs mill is operating on a 60-hour work week, Brinkmeyer said.

Brinkmeyer admits the mill’s continued closure is disappointing, but believes the market will eventually rebound and the mill will once again be an industry mainstay.

“I can assure you that Laclede is one of our top operations and when housing starts to resume at a normal level, we’ll be back in operation,” he said.