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Boise curtails sawmill operation Boise has temporarily curtailed operations at its sawmill in Jackson, according to a release published last week in Quips and Chips, a newsletter for Boise's Alabama operations. The cutbacks affect 91 salaried and hourly employees. Boise officials cited plummeting prices for products produced at the mill, the old White Smith sawmill, as reasons for the cutbacks. Boise's Alabama Operations General Manager Rick Grant said, "We are at pricing levels that I haven't seen in years, if ever." Grant added that the issue isn't one of fiber supply, but is totally market driven. "We really can't speculate about when this situation will turn around." Miles Hewitt, senior VP and general manager of Boise Paper, said, "I truly regret what this does to our people. The employees of our sawmill have been the shining star in Boise's quest for safety excellence. Their performance is unprecedented. Their loyalty and spirit is an incredible thing to witness." The curtailment, started Aug. 15, was to be implemented over several days as the dry log inventory was used up. The cutbacks will not affect the start up of a pallet manufacturing operation at the sawmill site, Boise officials said. "In a down lumber market the economics of the pallet mill improve due to the low cost of lower grade lumber produced at our sawmill or purchased on the open market," the newsletter article stated. The pallet mill is scheduled to start operating at the end of August and will employ approximately eight people. "This project, approved in March, is expected to provide a major cost benefit to our Jackson operation and pay for itself in a year," the newsletter stated.
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