Excel's Coffee Shop

[excel]

My Grandpa worked at this mill. What a shame. Known though out Washington state. But hey the economy is recovering right. LOL!
One big joke!




Closure of Shelton lumber mills will leave hundreds out of work
By Associated Press and KOMO Staff
Published: Apr 28, 2015 at 5:39 PM PDT Last Updated: Apr 28, 2015 at 6:25 PM PDT




SHELTON, Wash. -- After nearly a century of operations, Simpson Lumber is closing its mills in Shelton, on Washington's Olympic Peninsula, and cutting most of its 275 jobs in the area.

The two Shelton-area mills - along with one in Dayton, northeast of Walla Walla - are being sold to Sierra Pacific Industries, based in Anderson, California, KMAS-AM radio in Shelton reported. Sierra Pacific said in a statement that it doesn't intend to operate them but instead will build a state-of-the-art mill and lumber-planing operation in Shelton, to open in 2017.

"The decision to sell was extremely difficult because Shelton has always been in the heart of our lumber manufacturing business, and we have enjoyed great support from the Shelton community," Simpson Chairman Colin Moseley said in a statement. "I am confident that officials at Sierra Pacific Industries will enjoy a similarly collaborative spirit in Shelton."

"It was just kind of a kick in the head. It's alright," said Tony Strunk, who has worked at Simpson for 33 years. "We were shocked, really, that it was going to go that way. We thought another company would come in and keep running it

Simpson Lumber sent its workers 60-day termination letters. In addition to severance pay, the company said it's trying to secure government economic aid or job retraining for them.

Mason County has already been struggling to emerge from the recession, and its 7.8 percent unemployment rate is higher than the statewide average of 5.7 percent, according to data from the Washington Employment Security Department.

Many local businesses count on mill workers to stay afloat, and some are now wondering if they'll be able to stay afloat.

"We have a lot of people that work there who come here every morning to eat and have lunch," said David Cedillo, who runs Ritz Burgers across from the mill.

Cedillo, who runs the business with his father, said more than half of their customers work at the mills.

"It's weird to hear that they're shutting down and all the jobs are lost," said Cedillo, "It was surprising. I thought, 'how is it going to affect us?' And we might have to close."

Simpson says it will continue to operate Simpson Door Co., which employs 188 people in nearby McCleary. It's also hanging onto its railroad properties, tracks, tidelands and other properties in the Shelton Harbor area, and it's considering how it might put those facilities to different use.

Sierra Pacific is a family-owned forest products company that owns and manages nearly 3,000 square miles of timberland in Washington and California. "We appreciate the opportunity to bring the next generation of lumber manufacturing to Shelton," Sierra Pacific President George Emmerson said.