Beleaguered Pinkham Sawmill to close

NASHVILLE PLANTATION – An Aroostook County mill that has sputtered along in the past few months has finally run out of steam.

Irving Forest Products Inc. announced Tuesday that it would permanently close the Pinkham Sawmill in Nashville Plantation by the end of the month as a result of the downturn in the economy.

The mill, located west of Ashland, was struck by fire Monday that a company official said speeded up the closure.

Sixty-four employees work at the facility, but some employees could take positions in the company’s Dixfield sawmill or its woodlands operations. Once those positions are filled, the closing will result in the layoff of 44 employees. Five people will remain employed at the Pinkham Sawmill site to receive logs from company-owned lands as well as private woodlot owners.

The company continues to provide jobs to more than 550 Mainers at its sawmill and woodlands operation in Dixfield in western Maine.

Mill officials cited the slumping housing market, doubling of energy costs, and transportation costs as reasons for the closure.

Mary Keith, spokesman for Irving Sawmills, said Tuesday that lumber prices and demand have fallen “significantly” with the slump in U.S. home construction. Energy costs also have increased 97 percent over the past eight years, she added, while transportation costs have increased 40 percent since 2000.

A recent fire at the mill also “expedited” the closure of the facility, Keith said Tuesday.

A fire that broke out in the sawmill on Monday, which was deemed electrical in nature, destroyed the planer mill section of the site, according to Keith.

“Unfortunately, that did expedite the closing,” she said.

“The decision to close a mill is never an easy one,” added Gaston Poitras, vice president. “The people we work with in this small community are also our neighbors. We are working very hard to identify other opportunities within our organization for the employees at the Pinkham Sawmill. We will also be providing voluntary severance packages and have engaged local human resource professionals to support those who need assistance preparing resumes and applying for new work.”

In January, 73 people were put out of work when the mill closed. Mill officials said at the time that it was “an indefinite closure at this point in time due to market conditions,” adding that the slump in the U.S. housing market has hit a lot of companies hard.

On June 3, 45 employees returned to work at the mill, and two weeks later, another 25 employees resumed work at the company’s planer mill. An increase in demand for the quality of lumber produced at Pinkham was one of the reasons cited for the mill’s reopening.

According to company officials, the Pinkham Sawmill has operated on reduced shifts for three years and has been open for only three months this year.

U.S. Rep. Michael Michaud expressed sadness about the closure, saying in a press release that “Pinkham Saw Mill and its employees have gone through a lot in the past few months,” and that his office would be ready to provide assistance to displaced workers.

In a joint statement issued Tuesday afternoon, U.S. Sens. Olympia J. Snowe and Susan Collins pledged support for the laid-off workers. The senators called the announcement “devastating news.”

The senators’ said their staff had spoken to town, mill and labor officials to express support and offer assistance to the workers being displaced. Also, both offices have talked to the chairman of the transition team committee and plan to attend a preliminary transition team meeting next week. The team consists of representatives of resource agencies that meet to discuss what local assistance is available to help the workers through this time of transition from losing their jobs to becoming gainfully employed again.

The company anticipates there will be cleanup and other work for most employees for approximately two weeks. At that time, on or about Aug. 25, the mill will close permanently.

jlbdn@ainop.com

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