Longview Fibre Paper and Packaging Co., which shed 40 percent of its workforce over the last two years, has hired about 25 workers due to improving sales, company officials said Tuesday.

The company plans to add an additional 20 workers by the end of the year, said Chief Operating Officer Randy Nebel.

The mill employs about 1,020 people, up from the roughly 1,000 employees at the beginning of the year. Fibre employed about 1,700 in 2007 when the company was bought by Toronto-based Brookfield Management Associates.

Of the 25 workers added, about 20 are former Fibre workers laid off earlier, Nebel said.

“The amount of money that we’re putting into sales and marketing is much more significant than it ever has been at Longview Fibre Paper and Packaging, and it’s starting to pay off,” Nebel said.

Orders for container board — used to make corrugated cardboard boxes — have jumped in the last four months, especially in California, he said.

Fibre’s newest product, a stronger paper used for cement bags called Fibre Shield, is selling well domestically, Nebel said. The company is dipping its toes into markets in developing countries in Asia, Europe and Africa, where construction is expected to rebound more quickly, he said.

For the rest of the summer, Fibre should be busy filling orders, but the long-term outlook is harder to predict, Nebel said.

“The market appears to have gotten better, but we don’t know if it’s a (long-term) move or that our customers’ inventory have gotten so low they need to order more.”

Analysts say companies are for now only restocking their inventory of packaging supplies.

“When you have a massive de-stock, you have to restock at some point,” said Paul Latta, a forest-products industry analyst for Seattle-based McAdams Wright Ragen.

The economy also is showing small signs of improvement, and housing construction typically picks up in the summer, said Steve Chercover, a Portland-based forest-products industry analyst for D.A. Davidson.

“We’re building more homes than we were in February,” Chercover said.

Because of the weak U.S. dollar, Fibre’s products are more attractive in foreign markets, he added.

The 25 new jobs at Fibre is a shot in the arm to the economy in Cowlitz County, which posted a 14.2 percent unemployment rate in May. The paper industry in Cowlitz County has lost 300 jobs over the past year, according to government figures.

Brookfield bought Fibre in the spring of 2007, ending 80 years of public ownership and local management. The company has shut down three of its paper machines permanently and held six-week rolling shutdowns this winter to cut inventory.

Wauna mill also bolsters staff

Georgia-Pacific’s Wauna paper mill has hired 33 employees since the beginning of the year to replace workers who have retired or resigned, company officials said last week.

The Clatsop County mill, which employs many Wahkiakum and Columbia county residents, hired 18 of those 33 entry-level workers on June 1, said Kristi Ward, plant spokeswoman.

“We are hiring as our business needs dictate,” Ward said.

The entry-level wage for Wauna workers is $15.35. The Wauna mill has about 1,000 workers.

Related articles:

Upgraded Fibre paper machine now online  (Feb. 23)

Fibre invests in the future with $3.5 million upgrade  (Feb. 8)

Fibre returns to full production  (Jan. 10)

Fibre to shut down No.7 machine for four weeks  (Dec. 23, 2008)