Lumber mill cuts shift, workers
- Original Myrtle Beach Online article: Lumber mill cuts shift, workers
Simpson Lumber Co. officials said Thursday they were reducing their plant operations to one shift and laying off 38 people in response to an ailing market for wood products.
The change will become effective today, said Sandy McCorvey, facility manager for the plant in Georgetown County.
The mill was formerly known as the Sampit Lumber Mill.
International Paper sold three of its lumber mills, including the Sampit mill, to Simpson Lumber in December.
'We have determined that this production curtailment is necessary in order to make ongoing mill operations economically sustainable,' McCorvey said.
The layoff and reduction in shifts at the plant reflect the trend of sagging home and condo sales along the Grand Strand, according to economic officials.
'The way the economy has been with the housing market decline, this does not come as a big surprise,' said Georgetown County Economic Development Director Wayne Gregory. 'It's very unfortunate. We're hoping things will turn around and people who have lost their jobs will get called back to work.'
The Simpson Lumber Co. has headquarters in Tacoma, Wash.
The Sampit Lumber Mill, at 2701 Indian Hut Road, was once one of Georgetown County's top 10 employers, according to Georgetown County's Economic Development Department.
The mill once employed about 140 people and annually produced 130 million board feet of lumber.
The dour housing market and the slow economy in general make for tough times in the lumber business, Gregory said.
There were 444 home and condo sales on the Grand Strand in February, down from 651 in February 2007.
Last year, there were 8,675 home and condo sales, down from 12,316 in 2006.
Building permits are also down.
The overall number of permits issued for construction and renovations last year in Horry County declined to 9,221, down from 11,294 in 2006.
In Georgetown County, building permits issued declined from 963 in 2006 to 712 in 2007.
Despite the economic climate, new companies are coming to Georgetown and adding jobs even while others scale back.
Two new manufacturing businesses - American Gypsum and Lowcountry Paver - are expected to open this year, adding about 100 jobs combined.
Staff writer Jessica Foster contributed to this report.
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