Workers help keep mill alive

Efforts of L-P employees in Chilco, Idaho, contribute to sale that will preserve their jobs

Becky Kramer
Staff writer Spokesman Review

CHILCO, Idaho _ Uncertainty has dogged workers at Louisiana-Pacific’s Chilco sawmill for the past four years.

The mill has been for sale, and then pulled off the market, at least twice. Lumber prices slumped to historically low levels, while cheap imports from Canada poured over the border.

Fear of losing their jobs could have bred bad morale among the mill’s 87 employees. Instead, they revamped the money-losing mill to make it one of the most efficient and profitable in Louisiana-Pacific’s portfolio.

Within several weeks, the mill will be sold to a local operator, Riley Creek Lumber Co., which plans to invest in the mill and keep the current employees on the payroll. Without the employee efforts, the mill could have been mothballed.

"Every time they mentioned that the mill was on the market, people pulled together," said Phil Rutherford, production superintendent. "Everyone’s been telling us we’ve got a good mill, someone will be interested in buying us. That came true."

On Tuesday, the workers celebrated 15 months without a recordable work accident — an enviable record in the world of lumber manufacturing. They basked in the compliments of L-P Chairman Mark Suwyn, who flew in for a catered steak and potatoes lunch. Suwyn praised both the safety record and the mill’s reputation.

If Chilco didn’t have a reputation for efficiency, L-P wouldn’t have found a buyer, Suwyn said. The company expects to finalize the sale of the Chilco mill and another in Moyie Springs to Riley Creek by Oct. 1.

Riley Creek owner Marc Brinkmeyer said the reputation of the workers was important to the sale.

"When you buy mills, you don’t buy machines. You buy technology and talent," Brinkmeyer said. " (Mill manager) Bill McKinley and the team have done a very good job."

McKinley gives credit to employees who saw the urgency of the situation, and acted.

"It goes to the people who you see in boots and hard hats," he said. "The people here … had seen so many of their sister mills shut down. They came together to draw up an operating plan. They made themselves desirable."

By focusing on preventive maintenance, the mill dramatically reduced the time that the production line was down for repairs. Lumber output increased. So did safety.

"If people have a good safety record, it’s a good indication that things are being done right," said Bruce Mallory, general manager of lumber. "Manufacturing is a discipline. It’s about doing the right things over and over again."

"If people get hurt, you don’t get the job done," added employee Tim Simpkins, who chairs the mill’s safety committee and sorts logs in the mill’s log yard.

The sawmills at Chilco and Moyie Springs are among the last lumber operations still owned by Louisiana-Pacific.

Last year, Portland-based L-P announced that it was getting out of the lumber business. The company has been selling off sawmills, plywood plants and timberlands across the nation. Money from the sales is being used to pay down company debts and reinvest in other product lines.

"We had to make some tough decisions in the last 11/2 years," Suwyn said. "The lumber business is a very competitive industry. You have to be the best in your class to stay competitive."

Louisiana-Pacific surveyed product lines that were likely to grow in the next five to 10 years. Oriented strand board, laminated veneer, vinyl siding and plastic-wood composite decking were areas identified as likely to grow, Suwyn said. Lumber and plywood were not.

L-P is already a leader in OSB production, and figured it could be competitive in other other areas, Suwyn said.

Keeping the lumber division globally competitive would have required a capital infusion, which L-P doesn’t have, Suwyn said. "Our concern was that we would have to starve it" to invest in other areas.

McKinley has worked for Riley Creek in the past, and said he thinks the new owner will be a good fit for the mill.

"I know about him and his company," McKinley said of Brinkmeyer. "He’s very progressive and good about putting money back into his operations."

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