Layoff notices handed out to Lumby mill workers

By Roger Knox - Vernon Morning Star - April 25, 2008

Employees at a Lumby cedar mill are facing an uncertain future.

Paragon Wood Products notified the 55 workers at its Shuswap Avenue division Wednesday that most of them will be laid off. Within the next month, only about 12 will remain on the job.

“We don’t want to do it. We want to keep everyone happy,” said Andrew Powell, whose family owns the company.

“We will look at it from a day-to-day basis but it (activity) will be skeletal at best.”

The division consists of a log yard, a sawmill, a small-diameter log mill, a planer mill and kiln drying facilities.

At full swing, the division can produce about 30 million board feet of lumber a year.

Powell isn’t sure what the future will hold in the near future for the plant.

“We are struggling to get logs and what logs are available are too expensive to buy,” he said.

Part of the problem in accessing cedar is that much of the focus in B.C. now is on harvesting beetle-infested pine trees.

The market has also been hit by a downturn in the U.S. economy, the high Canadian dollar and increased international competition.

“We are facing cheaper fiber coming in from Russia and China,” said Powell.

Village of Lumby officials are watching the layoff situation closely.

“My concern is for the people involved. What are the social implications to the families?” said Frank Kossa, administrator.

There will also be an economic impact on the regional economy as the workers not only live in Lumby, but also in Vernon and Coldstream.

“There’s less spending in the community,” said Kossa.

But the bad news isn’t just restricted to the Lumby division.

Paragon’s Lake Country operations are half the size of what they were a year ago.

“We have two sites in Winfield and one is mothballed,” said Powell.

Paragon used to have five mills at one time, but in recent years, most of them have been closed, including in Lavington and Grindrod.

“The industry sucks and we are being pressured from every angle,” said Powell.

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Layoff notices handed out to Lumby mill workers

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Layoff notices handed out to Lumby mill workers