by Web Editor | Jun 1, 2016 | News
The long awaited news that Olympic Panel Products in Shelton would be closing down has finally come.
The State Employment Security Department released a layoff notice the 217 employees will be out of work starting on July 22. The news was originally announced in March of 2015, when notice came that forest products company Swanson Group Manufacturing LLC purchased the assets of Olympic Panel Products and would be moving operations to a new state-of-the-art facility in Springfield, Ore.
Cheryl Fambles, CEO of Pacific Mountain WorkForce Development Council (PMWDC), said the transition process will look a lot like what happened with the Simpson Lumber mill closure, which took place right next door and resulted in about 275 layoffs. The only difference is that employees may have an even harder time finding work closer to home. “(Simpson Lumber and Olympic Panel Products) are located side by side,” Fambles said. “The impacts in the community are cumulative.”
Before taking action, Fambles continued, PMWDC will talk to employees and evaluate to find out their plans — whether they are relocating, retiring or need retraining. Then, the organization will look for funding, including Trade Act Assistance dollars, which aids workers who lose their jobs due to international competition.
From there, Fambles said, PMWDC will continue operating the transition center in Shelton — originally erected to help Simpson workers — and hire on new peer advisors from Olympic Panel Products. That will help with paperwork, resumes, interview skills, finding a job, finding a school and other forms of assistance.
From Business Examiner: https://www.businessexaminer.com/blog/May-2016/Olympic-Panel-Products-closing-soon-with-217-layoffs/
by Web Editor | May 27, 2016 | News
Norbord Inc. recently announced that its OSB mill in High Level, Alberta resumed production over the weekend following a fire that occurred on May 4th.
As previously reported, in the afternoon of May 4th, a fire broke out in the mill yard which, as a result of the hot, dry, windy weather conditions in northern Alberta , quickly spread to the log storage area outside the plant. As a precaution, Norbord immediately suspended production at the mill. Shipping from finished goods inventory resumed the weekend of May 6th.
The High Level, Alberta mill has a stated annual production capacity of 860 million square feet (3/8-inch basis) and has been ramping up towards full production since resuming operations in late 2013. High Level is located approximately 720 kilometers northwest of Edmonton and 400 kilometers west of Fort McMurray.
From Yahoo! Finance: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/norbords-high-level-alberta-mill-100000267.html;_ylt=A86.J72EOkNXRkIAbiAnnIlQ;_ylu=X3oDMTByNWU4cGh1BGNvbG8DZ3ExBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDBHNlYwNzYw–
by Web Editor | May 25, 2016 | News
LP Building Products and Sherwood Lumber announce the distribution of the full line of LP SolidStart Engineered Wood Products to the distributor’s locations in Holtsville/Long Island, New York; North Bergen, New Jersey; and Palmer, Massachusetts. This increased distribution of LP’s products—including LP FlameBlock I-Joists—brings the building products to the Northeast.
“Because of their brand excellence and diverse product line, there is tremendous value in doing business with LP Building Products,” said David Gaudreau, senior vice president of sales for Sherwood Lumber. “We are excited to launch the LP program, providing our customers with some of the finest engineered wood products available to help grow sales.”
“Sherwood Lumber has a reputation for providing tremendous logistical and technical support to their customers, and we look forward to working with them in the Northeast,” said Jim Abbott, regional sales manager for LP. “Sherwood’s extensive relationships combined with our innovative products, solutions and sales support to the professional lumber dealer align well to aid future building industry growth within the market.”
From LBM Journal: https://www.lbmjournal.com/lp-building-products-and-sherwood-lumber-partner-on-engineered-wood-in-northeast/
by Web Editor | May 23, 2016 | News
Tens of thousands of U.S. businesses – including wood manufacturers and their suppliers – will be affected when new changes to the wage and hour rules take effect December 1.
The Department of Labor has amended the annual earnings threshold for employees to qualify for overtime pay – known as exempt status – from $23,660 to $47,476, a 101 percent jump. This would require employers either to increase pay, or change the status of any employee earning less $47,476 to “non-exempt status,” which under the Fair Labor Standards Act means they would get overtime pay.
Non-exempt status comes with another whole set of rules, including paying overtime and having work hours accurately tracked. Beginning in 2017, the minimum salary would automatically increase every three years to match the 40th percentile of the average salary earned by full-time employees in the United States. DOL estimates that 4.2 million workers are impacted by the rule.
According to the Wood Machinery Manufacturers of America, the new wage and hour rules are fraught with potentially unintended consequences for many of the workers it is meant to benefit. Employers might choose to cut staff or reduce some employees to part-time status. In addition, exempt employees who currently enjoy flexible hours might lose that privilege as their employers require them to log their hours to make sure they do not exceed 40 hours in any given week. Many employees will also find that the rules create new roadblocks to advancing their careers.
Bills in the House and Senate were introduced in March 2016, one by Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and another by Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.), that would nullify the proposed new rules (S. 2707 & H.R. 4773 – Protecting Workplace Opportunity and Advancement Act). Additionally, the bills would require that a comprehensive economic analysis be conducted to minimize the impact on affected employers before promulgating any substantially similar rules.
From Woodworking Network: https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/news/woodworking-industry-news/new-rule-could-make-millions-salaried-workers-eligible-overtime-pay?ss=news,news,woodworking_industry_news,news,almanac_market_data,news
by Web Editor | May 20, 2016 | News
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell today announced over $8.5 million to expand and accelerate technologies and strategies that promote the use of wood in commercial construction, heat and power generation, and other wood product innovations that also benefit forest health. Federal funds will leverage more than $18 million in investments from 42 business, university, nonprofit and Tribal partners in 19 states, for a total investment of $27 million.
“We are looking for opportunities to reduce forest restoration costs and create more jobs through strong forest products markets,” said Chief Tidwell. “This funding supports improving forest health on the National Forest System lands and other forested lands and promotes the economic and environmental well being of rural communities.”
The awarded funds will stimulate the use of hazardous fuels from National Forest System lands and other forested lands to promote forest health while simultaneously generating rural jobs. This year, 77 proposals were received for the Forest Service’s Wood Innovations grant program, highlighting the expanding interest and use of wood as a renewable energy source and as an innovative building material.
Healthy markets for forest products help the nation’s forests mitigate some of the impacts of climate change. Research has demonstrated that wood products from responsibly managed forests outperform other building materials in measures of greenhouse gas intensity, air and water pollution and other environmental impacts. Responsibly-sourced forest products also provide income for private landowners that keep their land forested and supports needed investments in forest management to provide clean water, wildlife habitat, and other resources millions of Americans depend upon.
Today’s announcement supports USDA’s Building Blocks for Climate Smart Agriculture and Forestry-a comprehensive effort to provide America’s farmers, ranchers and forest landowners with the tools and resources they need to combat climate change. Through this work, USDA expects to reduce net emissions and enhance carbon sequestration in soils and forests by over 120 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent per year by 2025-the equivalent of taking 25 million cars off the road or offsetting the emissions produced by powering nearly 11 million homes each year.
From the USDA: https://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?contentid=2016/05/0115.xml&contentidonly=true
