End Of Quite A Production Last Day Of Work For 150 At Pulp Mill, With Another 365 Out In Weeks To Come

Friday marked the end of a 67-year tradition in this Olympic Peninsula town: The Rayonier pulp mill, opened in 1930, halted production.

“Well, that’s it,” said 17-year mill veteran Brandon West as he headed for the parking lot after working his last graveyard shift.

“We just kind of sat around and talked,” West said of his last shift. “A lot of people are kind of disappointed. It’s a shame to see a perfectly good mill go down the tube.”

Stamford, Conn.-based Rayonier Timberlands announced the shutdown Oct. 21, saying the mill could no longer compete with plants in lower-cost regions such as the southeastern United States, South Africa and Asia.

At a shutdown ceremony, mill manager Mark Johnson said workers remained professional through the end.

“We went down with style,” Johnson said.

The closure costs the community about $17 million in direct payroll losses and 1,265 jobs indirectly for a total annual payroll impact of $34 million, as well as $1 million in lost tax revenue to local governments in the first year.

About 150 hourly and salaried employees lost their jobs Friday. The remainder of the mill’s 365 employees will be laid off over the next several weeks.

“A lot of people are really looking forward to new things, I guess,” said Jan Beckner, a lube technician who has worked at the mill for 21 years. “I’m looking forward to returning to school and learning a new trade.”

But there are things she’ll miss: “It’s the people. We’re all one big family down here.”

There’s been little hostility toward Rayonier, said Dan Roberts at the main security gate.

“I really haven’t seen any anger,” he said. “The management has been super for helping people.”

Human resources director Chuck Madison, who has worked at the mill for two decades, is proud of that.

“I think they realize we’ve done everything we can to make this mill survive,” he said.

The Port Angeles operation has lost $32 million over the past five years, including an expected $9 million this year, company officials said.

Still, “The stress has been building for a number of employees,” Madison said. “Until the uncertainty is over, I think there’s going to be some sleepless nights, myself included.”

The U.S. Labor Department announced a $2 million grant Thursday to help the mill’s displaced workers. Rayonier is kicking in $200,000 to offset community impact.

The main reason for the closure is the rising cost of hemlock, according to Rayonier. The company used to get hemlock from federal forests in the north Olympic Peninsula. But because of restrictions on timber cutting, that market has virtually dried up, and the operation cannot afford the added costs of bringing in hemlock from Canada and Alaska.

Still undecided is the future use for Rayonier’s 25-acre waterfront mill site in this community of 18,000 people. Some hope it will be used by upscale, environment-friendly business - a resort, marine aquarium or hotel.

Community leaders, noting the high cost of cleaning up the site, are pushing for a use that will generate jobs - possibly in high-tech production of computer chips or silicon wafers.