Plant to reopen in February

BY Tammy Leytham

THE SELMA TIMES-JOURNAL

Officials from Louisiana-Pacific Corporation told its employees Tuesday that the Selma plant will be shut down from this Friday until approximately Feb. 1, according to Gary Marlin, plant manager.

The Feb. 1 date of re-opening the plant is tentative. &8220;If orders come in, they would start up as needed,&8221; Marlin said. &8220;But, both plants have an extensive inventory right now.&8221;

Marlin said of the 65 to 70 employees at the Selma location, about 30 will continue to work, including staff, maintenance and shipping workers.

The other approximately 30 employees will be eligible for unemployment, but LP officials plan to try to keep those workers busy as well.

Though Marlin is fairly new to LP, he said he has been impressed by how the company has handled the lay-off.

A pickup is anticipated in the housing market in early spring, Marlin added, and officials believe the market for composite decking will also grow.

Founded in 1973, LP manufactures composite building products, such as siding, decking and moulding at 29 mills in the United States, Canada and Chili.

Deborah Goodwin contributed to this report.