Arkansas Business News Story
Georgia-Pacific to 'Indefinitely' Suspend Crossett Plywood Plant, Affecting 700
By Lance Turner
9/9/2011 4:47:22 PM
Georgia-Pacific says it will suspend "indefinitely" its plywood and stud manufacturing operation in Crossett, affecting 700 workers.
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Georgia-Pacific said Friday it will suspend "indefinitely" its plywood and stud manufacturing operation in Crossett on Nov. 7, affecting 700 workers.
The shutdown comes amid a depressed housing market and dwindling profits. A Georgia-Pacific spokesman, James Malone, told ArkansasBusiness.com that "poor market conditions" forced the suspension.
Malone noted that in 2005, there were about 2 million housing starts. So far in 2011, there have been about 580,000, he said.
He said the company had been hopeful conditions would improve, and that it hopes it can eventually restart the operation.
The company also announced plans Friday to suspend another plywood operation in Hawthorne, Fla., affecting 400 workers there. It will also close on Nov. 7.
Malone said the suspension does not affect the Georgia-Pacific's other paper and consumer products operation in Crossett, which he said employs about 1,400 people.
Last year, company executives, including Georgia-Pacific CEO Jim Hannan, appeared at the state Capitol with Gov. Mike Beebe to announce a $250 million project to upgrade to the paper operation.
Work on the upgrades is expected to be complete by 2012. The upgrades will modernize the mill with Georgia-Pacific's proprietary tissue-papermaking technology.
Georgia-Pacific of Atlanta is one of the world's leading manufacturers and marketers of building products, tissue, packaging, paper, cellulose and related chemicals. Its parent company is Koch Industries of Wichita, Kan., which bought G-P for $21 billion in 2005.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Georgia-Pacific to 'Indefinitely' Suspend Crossett Plywood Plant, Affecting 700
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