Alta mill lays off 25

NAPLES — As many as 25 employees were laid off last week at the Alta Forest Products mill in Naples underwent a shift curtailment that reduced operating hours from 100 to 80 at the cedar fence products mill.

An identical shift curtailment and similar reduction was also done at the company’s Shelton, Wash., facility.

“There is a seasonality to the business,” said VP of Sales Jeff Cook. “Demand for residential wood fencing rises in the spring and slows down by the Fourth of July.”

According to Naples mill HR manager Janie Zarate, more than a third of the layoffs were Integrated Personnel, temporary workers who had been on the job around three months for the spring push. Meanwhile, 106 employees are still on the job at the mill, working five eight-hour shifts, she said.

“Our supply and demand is in balance,” said Cook. “There is a stronger market for building products than three years ago.”

Although new construction has not fully rebounded since the market collapse, the companies of Alta have seen a steady two to four percent growth, Cook said. With a lot of foreclosure homes still on the market, the main drivers have been multi-family homes and remodels.

“We’re seeing steps in the right direction. We don’t want a really fast recovery,” Cook said. “We’ve lost a lot of sawmills and building products companies since 2007.”

The low demand has balanced itself with the low supply chain, Cook said. A spike in demand would lead to labor shortages. Many qualified workers have already moved from the milling industry to find work elsewhere.

“We have a hard time finding qualified people,” said Zarate. Despite an average wage around $14 an hour, “a lot of people have moved to North Dakota,” she said.

“It’s unfortunate we have to lay off seasonal workers,” said Cook, “but it gives them a chance to see what the job is like. Finding good employees is a struggle all around. We ask the exceptional ones to stay on.”

Cook has seen a lot of benefit from the combination of Welco and TMI under the Alta Forest Products umbrella. Before, the companies would split timber sales and small logs would go one way and larger ones another. He says the combination of the two companies limits the distance logs have to be hauled, and increases the key efficiencies.

“Our largest concern was getting the price to a level where it no longer competed,” Cook said. “The rise in the price of raw materials, labor and other costs was like turning off a spigot in 2006 and 2007. Consumers started using vinyl, pressure treated products and white wood.”

Mills were forced to reduce to one shift, or even close, like the Naples mill was forced to do in 2010. Since that point, the company has started rebuilding market share and is able to support two shifts at it’s mills.

“We don’t want to ride the wave then crash,” said Cook. “It’s much better to build sustainable communities and products. We can achieve a lot more that way.”