Patten to lose jobs with closure of mill

Allison Roy Photo
CLOSING SOON — Outside the Appalachian Katahdin Mill in Patten are logs for wood veneer production. The mill will close soon, according to company officials, resulting in the loss of 18 jobs.
By Elna Seabrooks
Staff Writer
    PATTEN — Officials of Shaw Industries Group in Georgia have announced that the Appalachian Katahdin Mill in Patten “will close in the coming weeks” resulting in the loss of 18 jobs. Bob Douglass, mill manager, declined any comment and referred press inquiries to corporate headquarters.
    A company spokesperson there, said “the shutdown is, of course, a difficult decision. And, it’s really just due to veneer operations, overall market demand and continuing rising costs of transportation and managing the cost of raw material inventory.”
    Adding that “Shaw tries to place mill associates in better terms” the spokesperson said she could not comment further if there were any plans to relocate any or all of the 18 workers. “It absolutely doesn’t reflect on the performance of the associates at plant H2, but basically just market conditions,” she added.
Patten stats reflect nation’s
    At a time when the country is still struggling with job losses nationwide, seasonally unadjusted unemployment figures in Maine for June 2010 were at 7.7 percent and at 8.2 percent in Penobscot County — below the national average of 9.6 percent. Dana Evans, research analyst for the Maine Center for Workforce Research and Information in Augusta said Maine and Penobscot County generally are doing slightly better than the rest of the nation. But, in Patten, he said the 9.5 percent unemployment numbers there parallel the country’s. Evans explained that unemployment statistics are based on the residence of the worker and not the location of the job.
Local reactions
    Terri Conklin, Patten town manager said: “I am sure that the closure will have an impact on the town of Patten and the surrounding towns with the economy in rough shape.” She added that “the loss of any business will have a significant impact not only on our area but all the others.” Patten, according to Conklin, has 1,111 residents.
Allison Roy Photo
MILL TO CLOSE — The Appalachian Katahdin Mill in Patten will close soon.
    Heidi Rigby, president of the Northern Katahdin Valley Region Chamber of Commerce, said: “Obviously with any closing of any business in our area, it affects the whole economic climate. But, we are a resilient people up here in northern Maine. I am sure that we will get through this too. It’s going to have its effect immediately until people can figure out other employment or hopefully, possibly, someone else will come in and purchase the mill or get something else going so that we can get some people back to work.”
    The mill property changed hands several times over the years before Shaw Industries took it over in 2007 according to town records.
    Shaw sells woven and tufted broadloom carpet and rugs as well as other flooring products including laminate, ceramic tile and hardwood. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway owns Shaw Industries. In the third quarter earnings report for the period ending May 31, 2010, the Shaw Group, Inc. reported nearly $50 million in net income with $20 billion in a backlog of unfilled orders.