USA - Roseburg announced plans for a multi-million dollar investment in new technology at its western manufacturing operations, the result of an extensive analysis of strategic business opportunities in the west.

As part of the restructuring, the company will close its particleboard plant in Dillard, Ore., and offer current team members employment opportunities elsewhere in the organization.

The closure will affect 179 current team members at the company’s Dillard Composites plant, which has operated since 1965. Some machine centers will continue to operate for up to 60 days.

“The decision to stop production at a facility is never easy, and these transitions have significant impact on the people involved,” Roseburg Senior Vice President of Operations Jake Elston said. “We have already begun working with our current team members on this upcoming transition to identify other opportunities within the organization.”

Roseburg undertook an extensive study of strategic investment opportunities to enhance its integrated business model in the west.

“The analysis led to the decision to close Dillard Composites and look toward the investment, growth, and continued modernization of our western integrated business model,” Roseburg President and CEO Grady Mulbery said. “The coming investment in automated technology will create a more competitive business and allow us to maintain a robust, long-term presence in Douglas County, the state, and the industry as a whole.”

The company will continue to manufacture particleboard at its plants in Missoula, Montana; Simsboro, Louisiana.; and Taylorsville, Mississippi.

For more than half a century Roseburg Forest Products has produced quality wood products for customers throughout North America and is recognized as a major supplier of wood products. An excellent natural resource base, state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities, talented and experienced associates, and a reputation for quality products and superior customer service have been key elements of its success.