Roseburg to end operations at Taylorsville, MS, particleboard plant, sell facility
Roseburg announced today that it will permanently end operations at its Taylorsville, Miss., particleboard plant on Aug. 21, 2023. While the plant will no longer produce particleboard, a forest products company has signed a letter of intent to purchase the facility for an alternate use. The transaction is expected to close later this year, pending completion of standard due diligence and regulatory activities.
Roseburg acquired the Taylorsville particleboard plant from Georgia-Pacific in 2006 in an expansion of the company’s composite panel business. The Taylorsville plant is now among the oldest particleboard mills in North America, and the plant’s press equipment and technology have aged to the point that it can no longer compete with newer domestic particleboard mills and the influx of imported products.
The plant currently employs approximately 100 team members. Roseburg will work with local resources to assist affected team members as the closure date approaches.
“The decision to permanently close a plant is always difficult, and we know this closure will have a significant impact on our team members,” Roseburg’s Chief Operating Officer Stuart Gray said. “Unfortunately, our Taylorsville mill is no longer able to compete in a business segment that is dominated by modern mills that are more efficient and less costly to operate. We are very encouraged that the sale of the plant will provide jobs in the future, and that we will continue to serve our customers with product from our particleboard mill in Simsboro, La.”
The Simsboro plant is much more competitive thanks to its more modern manufacturing platform, including a 10-foot continuous press and other technology.
Roseburg is heavily invested in the composites industry, manufacturing both particleboard and MDF at plants 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 MDF trim suitable for exterior applications.