More than 40 Smithers employees of Northern Engineered Wood Products are looking for work today after being informed Friday of the plant’s indefinite closure.
The shutdown is effective immediately.
The closure is due to poor market conditions, said NEWPRO president Darren Jacobs.
“It’s been a long time of very poor market conditions,” Jacobs said.
“We’re shutting down until the market improves a lot.
“It’s been a market that has been stale for quite a few years. It could improve in two months or two years. We just don’t know. We’re obviously hoping for sooner rather than later.”
NEWPRO has been working on finding new markets for years, Jacobs said, but they have had no success in that regard.
“Overseas markets are terrible and we just finally had to make the decision that markets have to improve for us to continue,” he said.
A few people are working this week, but most of the 43 employees are now out of work.
“We have some fibre we are still moving but besides that, everyone is done,” Jacobs said. “It’s tough. I feel for the employees, it’s been a longtime running mill.”
NEWPRO manufactures a variety of grades and sizes of particleboard and melamine decor products.