Some workers at Tolko Industries’ Armstrong division are getting an unexpected summer break. The Vernon-based company has announced the division’s plywood operation will take market-related downtime for a minimum of one week starting July 5. That impacts 150 employees. “We’ve had a pretty good run for a couple of months but we’re now building volume and there’s no take away,” said Pat Donnelly, Armstrong division site manager, of a lack of sales. Much of the upheaval in the market is a result of trends south of the border. “U.S. housing starts are down,” said Donnelly, adding that Tolko must adjust its operations in response to customer demand. “With the economic period we are going through, we will see significant ups and downs and we have to manage the best way we can.” Plywood production is scheduled to resume July 12 but that will depend on market conditions at the time.“It could be longer, definitely,” said Donnelly.
“Customers can be conservative and then they can jump in and purchase a couple of blocks.” Donnelly admits that the decision to cease operations temporarily wasn’t an easy one to make. “We regret the impact this will have on our employees and their families,” he said, adding that it’s not a result of anything the workers have done. “We acknowledge and thank our employees for their continuing hard work to improve productivity during this period of volatile product prices.” Beyond individual employees, Donnelly points out that the downtime has a negative impact on the company. “If you’re not running the facility, you have got a capital investment you’re not using,” he said. Tolko Industries is a private company with more than 3,500 employees in Western Canada, including in Armstrong, Lavington and Lumby.It’s a major producer and marketer of lumber, veneer, plywood, oriented strand board, and kraft papers, with manufacturing operations.
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