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New Weyerhaeuser sawmill up and running

Tuesday, July 1, 2008 11:43 PM PDT

By Erik Olson

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The first logs rolled through Weyerhaeuser Co.’s new consolidated sawmill in Longview on Monday, marking a new era for the company’s lumber production in Cowlitz County.

The new, high-tech mill, located next to the company’s existing planer mill on Industrial Way, will be in the start-up phase for about three months as workers make sure it’s working properly, said Anthony Chavey, a Weyerhaeuser spokesman.

“They have to do some preliminary work before they get to full capacity,” Chavez said.

Weyerhaeuser is planning a public unveiling of the mill after it moves out of the start-up phase, which should happen in September, Chavez said.

The new mill replaces the 32-year-old Green Mountain mill outside of Toutle, which Weyerhaeuser shut down two months ago. The company had been planning to move its operations to the Longview site, which employes 230 people, since December 2006. The cost-cutting move eliminated 130 jobs. About 60 to 70 former Green Mountain employees took jobs at the new mill.

As the timber industry struggles with the collapsing nationwide housing market, Weyerhaeuser is treading where few other companies dare by opening a new, high-tech mill, said Paul Latta, a timber industry analyst who covers the company for the Seattle-based McAdams Wright Ragen.

“To me, it shows that they’re committed to the lumber business for the long-term,” Latta said.

The opening of the mill is welcome news to community leaders with the county’s unemployment rate hovering about 8 percent and the national economy nearing recession.

The new mill, however, puts people to work, said Ted Sprague, executive director of the Cowlitz Economic Development Council.

“We’re thrilled we can get any type of capital investment,” Sprague said.

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flowergirld wrote on Jul 2, 2008 12:47 PM:

" The article says, "About 60 to 70 former Green Mountain employees took jobs at the new mill." What about the others who were employed at Green Mt, who WANTED, had to interview for jobs at the new mill and then were told NO! Men and women who had been working for that mill for over 25 or 30 years... what does that say about the company?! A lot to me...and it's not good! "

kalamaite wrote on Jul 2, 2008 1:29 PM:

" Flowergirld - does it say something about the company or about the employees that were let go? If you work hard and do a great job, I would assume you would be offered a job???? Sometimes one person's perception of doing a good job is different than the real world. Most companies will not let go of productive employees....those are the ones you want and are hard to find. "

cobbwebber wrote on Jul 2, 2008 7:20 PM:

" Green Mt. had 150 employees. The new ILevel sawmill only needs 60-70 people to operate. It is so high-tech it takes one person to do the job of 4 or 5. It's too bad everyone couldn't have got a job. But the reality is if they would not have built this mill another 150 people would have lost thier jobs too. So I believe Weyco made the right choice. "

Real American wrote on Jul 2, 2008 7:23 PM:

" Hey Flowergirld - I know personally from working around a portion of the "Green Mountain" employees to ascertain their general attitude. I heard for years bitchin and moaning over the company C.B. about how rotten Weyerhaeuser was. I'm sure some bosses were listening in from time to time. They acted entitled. They many times seemed to have lost some perspective of what they had and what the rest of the working world was really like. "

flowergirld wrote on Jul 3, 2008 8:07 AM:

" Cobbwebber- The article says the new mill employes 230 people yet only 60-70 are from the G.M. mill. What I really don't understand is if the men and women who were working at G.M for over 30 years were not doing there job, why were they still there to the end? It was because they COULD do the job. And do it well. Everybody complains about their job once in a while, and mill workers are no exception. What it seems like to me, is this company had an opportunity to hire new workers with less experience or qualifications and pay them half of what the people who had been with the company for years were being paid. It was a way for the company to spend less money in wages. If the people at G.M. weren't doing there jobs to the satisfaction of the company, they should have been let go years ago...but instead, they were let go when the company opened a new mill. I am not saying that opening the new mill wasn't a great idea. But the way they treated their loyal, life time, and completely capable employees, wasn't right. "

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