| PIneville: Governor Bobby Jindal traveled to Pineville to meet with International Paper officials and local officials on the announced closure of the paper mill there due to a downturn in demand, spurred by the declining national and global economy. Governor Jindal was joined by the Executive Director of the Louisiana Workforce Commission Curt Eysink, Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Economic Development Stephen Moret, Alexandria Mayor Jaques Roy, Pineville Mayor Clarence Fields and Representatives Chris Hazel, Chris Roy, Billy Chandler, and Herbert Dixon.
Governor Jindal said, “When one part of our state hurts, our whole state hurts. We will not rest until we find opportunity in this challenge. We are now turning our attention to the next steps forward and identifying a way to use this facility and certainly new jobs for the incredible workers affected by IP’s announcement.
“We know we can succeed, because we have pulled together as a community and scored some amazing victories after serious setbacks before. We have already successfully reopened four facilities in our state, including the Guide Plant, Tembec, Northwest Pipe, and Pilgrims Pride.
“We are working with IP and encouraging them to help us find an alternative use for this facility. We want this site to be back up and running as soon as possible to help provide more jobs for the people of Pineville and central Louisiana. LED Secretary Stephen Moret is putting a team together to work with IP on alternative uses for the facility, and we will redouble our efforts to identify additional business development prospects for this area.”
Workforce Commission Executive Director Curt Eysink detailed that the workforce rapid response team would be on the ground in the coming days in Pineville to meet with local officials and company representatives to begin helping workers with assistance programs and skills training opportunities to connect them with jobs and discuss benefit options for employees.
Governor Jindal also said that while the state’s economy has outperformed the South and the U.S., the state is not immune from what’s happening nationally, and the wood products industry has been particularly hard hit as a result of the national recession. Governor Jindal said he spoke with IP CEO John Faraci this morning and Faraci emphasized how difficult the closure decision was for them to make, especially because of the great workers at the facility and the incredible strides the state has made to improve the business environment in Louisiana.
Governor Jindal added that the Louisiana Department of Economic Development has been actively monitoring all of the paper facilities in the state since even before the national economic downturn, and the state has had discussions with local and corporate executives at each paper producing company. He said the Pineville mill had undergone significant restructuring efforts in recent years to increase efficiency and the state has been in frequent communication with the company to ensure they any support they need is provided.
The Governor pointed to several initiatives the state has focused on since he took office to support the pulp and paper industry in Louisiana, including the acceleration and elimination of the sales tax on machinery and the phase out and removal of the sales tax on utilities in the Governor’s 2008 second special session. The Governor also supported legislation in the most recent session to exempt repair parts from sales taxes for the paper and pulp industry, ensured that the tax treatment of immovable property would not be changed in a way that would hurt our pulp and paper mills, and supported the creation of a new modernization program to provide a five percent tax credit on capital expenditures.
Additionally, the Governor worked to pass the “Forestry Fairness” legislation to provide a level playing field for wood chip and fiber feedstock supplies.
IP announced the permanent closures of three paper and containerboard mills this morning, including the one in Pineville, one in Albany, Oregon, and Franklin, Virginia, as well as the permanent shut down of a paper machine at their Valliant, Oklahoma mill. IP said the closures are the result of difficult national economic conditions and global competitive pressures on the industry. Following the closure of this facility, IP will have 11 facilities remaining in Louisiana that collectively employ approximately 1,300-1,400 people.
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