Koppers sells Florida wood treatment facility

Pittsburgh-based producer of treated wood products Koppers has announced the sale of its Gainesville, Fla., wood treatment facility to Beazer East.

The company said it reached an agreement with Beazer East on Dec. 22 for the transfer of ownership of all the land and buildings at the facility.

"The economic downturn has had a significant impact on our operations in Gainesville," said Walt Turner, president and CEO of Koppers. "It is always difficult to close an operating facility such as Gainesville, as a closure like this directly affects the livelihood of our employees.”

Turner also touched on the environmental issues with the grounds, which is classified as a superfund site by the Environmental Protection Agency.

“We have always been committed to operating the Gainesville facility in full compliance with state and federal environmental regulations," he said. "We do understand that investigation and remediation of historic conditions at this site are important issues in Gainesville, and we are hopeful that those environmental issues, which pre-date our ownership of the facility, will be efficiently and satisfactorily resolved."