Weyerhaeuser shuts down engineered lumber plant

Weyerhaeuser has announced it will close its Structurwood plant in Hudson Bay, Saskatchewan, by early July. The facility, one of nine Weyerhaeuser units that manufacture oriented strand boards, had an annual production capacity of 550 million square feet.

The decision will affect 170 employees, according to the company. The Hudson Bay facility had already reduced it production, in the spring of 2007, because of reduced demand. The mill will now be mothballed, although Weyerhaeuser has not ruled out other strategic alternatives.

“We will also use this time to explore transfer of ownership opportunities for this operation,” said Phil Dennett, Weyerhaeuser’s vp-strand technologies, in a prepared statement.