SPOKANE, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Clearwater Paper Corporation (NYSE:CLW) today announced the
permanent and immediate closure of its Long Island, N.Y., tissue
converting and distribution facility.
"After thoughtful consideration, we have determined that permanently
closing our Long Island plant and consolidating manufacturing at the
company's other lower-cost tissue facilities is a necessary step for
Clearwater Paper," said Tom Colgrove, president of the company's
consumer products division. "This has been a tough decision, one where
we carefully reviewed all alternatives to closing the plant."
The company will work closely with the New York Department of Labor's
Rapid Response Unit to assist employees in receiving training or
educational benefits or other benefits that enable them to find new
employment as quickly as possible. The company will also provide career
assistance services to help employees through this difficult time.
Displaced employees will have the opportunity to apply for open
positions at other Clearwater Paper facilities. In addition, employees
will be offered separation pay.
The company expects the total impact of non-recurring exit related costs
to be approximately $12-$15 million, of which approximately $10 million
is expected to be incurred in 2014 and the remainder in 2015. The cost
savings benefits resulting from the facility consolidation and
optimization, which are incremental to the company's previously
announced cost savings programs, are expected to be approximately $6
million in operating costs savings in 2014 and approximately $12 million
on an annual basis to be fully realized beginning in the first quarter
of 2015.
"Clearwater Paper wants to ensure we are doing as much as we can to help
the 155 affected Long Island employees through this difficult time,"
said Colgrove. "We are working with local and state agencies plus a
private job transitional service to supply multiple job options to the
employees."
ABOUT CLEARWATER PAPER
Clearwater Paper manufactures quality consumer tissue, away-from-home
tissue, parent roll tissue, machine glazed tissue, bleached paperboard
and pulp at 14 manufacturing locations in the U.S. and Canada. The
company is a premier supplier of private label tissue to major retailers
and wholesale distributors. This includes grocery, drug, mass merchants
and discount stores. The company also produces bleached paperboard used
by quality-conscious printers and packaging converters. Clearwater
Paper's employees build shareholder value by developing strong customer
relationships through quality and service.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within
the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 as
amended, including statements regarding the timing of the closure of the
Long Island facility, the costs and timing of those costs associated
with the closure of the Long Island facility and the cost savings
benefits and timing of those benefits associated with the consolidation
and optimization of manufacturing facilities. These forward-looking
statements are based on current expectations, estimates, assumptions and
projections that are subject to change, and actual results may differ
materially from the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause
actual results to differ materially include, but are not limited to,
risks and uncertainties arising from the possibility that the closure of
the facility may be delayed or may not occur; difficulties with the
relocation and optimization of manufacturing equipment; manufacturing or
operating disruptions, including equipment malfunction and damage to the
company's facilities; competitive pricing pressures for the company's
products, including as a result of increased capacity as additional
manufacturing facilities are operated by the company's competitors;
changes in the cost and availability of wood fiber and wood pulp;
changes in transportation costs and disruptions in transportation
services; labor disruptions; changes in costs for and availability of
packaging supplies, chemicals, energy and maintenance and repairs;
changes in customer product preferences and competitors' product
offerings; changes in the U.S. and international economies and in
general economic conditions in the regions and industries in which the
company operates; and other risks and uncertainties described from time
to time in the company's public filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. The forward-looking statements are made as of the date of
this press release and the company does not undertake to update any
forward-looking statements.
Clearwater Paper Corporation
News media:
Matt Van Vleet,
509-344-5912
or
CFO:
John Hertz, 509-344-5905
or
Investors:
IR
Sense
Sean Butson, 509-344-5906
Source: Clearwater Paper Corporation
News Provided by Acquire Media