C. Falls plywood plant to reopen
Plum Creek Timber Co. temporarily shut down its Columbia Falls plywood plant Monday in the wake of two recent workplace injuries.
The plant will be running again on Wednesday, according to Tom Ray, Plum Creek’s vice president of Northwest Resources and Manufacturing.
Ray, who is traveling this week, issued a brief e-mail statement late Monday, saying the company had been considering taking a short period of down time at the plywood plant due to market conditions.
“Two recent injuries have prompted us to take this time to review safety procedures to ensure the continued safety of our people,” Ray said.
A worker at the plant said one of the injuries involved a woman who had some fingers cut off by unsecured equipment. Another accident reportedly involved a worker who was injured in a forklift accident.
Plum Creek’s plywood plant in Columbia Falls employs roughly 140 workers, down from a pre-recession work force of 175.
Employee cross-training over the past couple of years has boosted efficiency at the plywood plant, and the company has found a market for specialty products such as medium-density fiberboard pressed onto plywood that’s now used in school furniture.
Ray said earlier this year that Plum Creek expected its manufacturing segment to continue at about the same level of profitability in 2011, despite a continued downturn in the housing industry.
Plum Creek recently announced second quarter earnings of $44 million on revenues of $284 million. It’s a significant increase from 2010’s second quarter earnings of $35 million on revenues of $258 million.
“Good results from our real estate segment offset weaker-than-anticipated results from our timber operations,” Plum Creek President and Chief Executive Officer Rick Holly said in a prepared statement regarding the company’s finances. “Sawlog markets in the West and Northeast remained attractive during the second quarter; however, sawlog markets in the South continued to be challenging due to extremely dry weather and weak domestic demand.”