Roseburg Forest Products to End Operations at Missoula Particleboard Plant
Facility will permanently close
By Denise Rivette
Roseburg Forest Products announced today on its website that it will permanently end operations at its Missoula, Montana, particleboard plant on May 22, 2024. The closure is the final step in the company’s strategic plan to exit the particleboard manufacturing business and focus resources on other product segments, including MDF, engineered wood, plywood, and lumber.
Roseburg acquired the Missoula particleboard plant from Louisiana-Pacific in 2003 in an expansion of the company’s composite panel business. Built in 1969, the age of the manufacturing platform created challenges as the mill competed with more modern plants.
“The decision to permanently close a plant is always difficult. It is especially difficult with our Missoula operation as we complete our exit from the particleboard marketplace,” Roseburg’s President and CEO Stuart Gray said. “Unfortunately, Missoula’s older platform and technology is simply not competitive from a cost structure perspective in a marketplace with many new, modern particleboard facilities.
Following the news that Roseburg Forest Products will be closing, Montana’s federal legislators issued the following statements:
Senator Steve Daines was first to share his reaction: “The impending closure of Roseburg Forest Products is a huge blow to the Missoula community. Roseburg has been an important part of Montana's wood products sector and a major employer in the area. This is incredibly disappointing news.”
A spokesperson for Senator Jon Tester responded with the following statement: “Roseburg Forest Products has created good paying jobs that have helped power the Missoula economy for decades, and Senator Tester is disappointed to see it close. The Senator has been in touch with company leadership and local officials, and will work to provide any available assistance to the people and families affected.”
Representative Matt Rosendale lamented, “The Roseburg Forest Products closure in Missoula marks the second large-scale lumber operation closing this month in the Treasure State. The over 150 jobs that will be lost are a huge blow to both the timber industry and Missoula County. The Biden Admin must do a better job of utilizing our abundant timber resources before we lose any more jobs and valuable infrastructure. I am praying for quick employment and financial security for all of those who are impacted by this surprise announcement.”
Representative Ryan Zinke did not respond by publication time.
“We know this closure will have a significant impact on our team members there, and thus, our primary objective with this closure is to assist them through this transition as smoothly as possible,” CEO Gray said. The plant currently employs approximately 150 team members. Roseburg will work closely with local resources to assist affected team members as the closure date approaches.
According to their website:
Roseburg is heavily invested in the composites industry, with manufacturing across North America. The company recently announced a $700 million investment in manufacturing in Oregon, including a new plant, Dillard MDF, which will make both medium- and high-density fiberboard, and Dillard Components, which will produce exterior trim. Construction of its Roanoke Valley Lumber mill in Weldon, North Carolina, is nearing completion, with sales of dimensional lumber underway.