IFG Closing Tricon Timber
Officials with Idaho Forest Group announced at the end of August the closure of its St. Regis, Mont. sawmill in late November. The company had acquired the mill in 2017 from Tricon Timber.
A post on IFG’s website from August 2019 noted the company had added a sprinkler system, replaced some older equipment and was converting the mill to an 8 ft. operation with other projects in the works. However, according to news reports of the closure announcement, the facility had not met production targets in the past year despite high lumber prices and had been having trouble finding employees.
Company officials say the hot lumber market helped mask some of the issues at St. Regis, but with prices now falling, IFG officials say the mill isn’t cost competitive and the decision was made to close the operation.
The facility employed 99 on site and had a big multiplier effect in western Montana supporting logging, trucking and other local jobs.
IFG operates six sawmills in Idaho and is building a new sawmill in Mississippi that’s scheduled to start up in 2023.
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