Governor visits mill in Guilford

GUILFORD – Gov. John Baldacci visited Pride Manufacturing Co. on Thursday to meet with officials and workers to discuss the mill’s closure.

Mill officials on Tuesday told their customers and about 60 employees that the Guilford factory would either be sold or closed Sept. 15.

“It was a good opportunity to visit with the workers and tell them about the state’s involvement [with the closing],” Baldacci said Thursday afternoon in a telephone interview.

The mill, established in 1956 by the Pride family, makes turnings, which are wooden pieces used in the hardwood furniture industry, craft and hobby and advertising specialties.

Baldacci said that state officials will do everything possible to help the company find a new buyer as well as provide assistance to its workers, including help finding jobs.

“The most important thing is to let people know that we have taken interest and we are concerned,” Baldacci said.

The closing, which had been rumored for months, follows the December 2001 closure of Dexter Shoe Co.’s manufacturing operation in Dexter, which temporarily shifted about 475 people onto the unemployment rolls.

The rapid-response division of the Maine Department of Labor will meet with Pride workers Monday and Tuesday of next week, according to Baldacci. Sixty families will be affected by the mill’s closure.