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Seneca Resources to sell last sawmill in area |
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Written by Reporter1
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Wednesday, 21 July 2010 |
Photo by Ted Lutz
This is part of the logyard at the Highland Forest Products sawmill on Rt. 66 west of Marienville. Seneca Resources, the parent of Highland Forest Products, is in the processing of selling the sawmill, its last timber-processing facility. Seneca, the exploration and production segment of National Fuel Gas of Williamsville near Buffalo, once operated four area sawmills, including one in Kane.
By Ted Lutz
Republican Staff
MARIENVILLE – Seneca Resources is in the process of selling its Marienville sawmill-- the company's last remaining lumber-processing facility.
Industrial Timber and Lumber (ITL), based in Beachwood, Ohio, is the unofficial prospective buyer for the sawmill on Route 66 just west of Marienville.
Officials from the Marienville sawmill and ITL have declined to comment on the proposed sale.
However, Seneca and its affiliate-- Highland Forest Products, Inc.-- have notified sawmill employees that jobs at the Marienville sawmill will be "terminated" by mid-September "if the sale occurs."
In its "notice of layoff," Seneca said the company is "optimistic" that the "purchaser will continue operating the Marienville sawmill and will employ as its own employees many of the company's current employees."
But Seneca pointed out in the notice that the anticipated "purchaser retains the option of offering employment to the company's current employees, but it is not obligated to do so."
Seneca told its sawmill employees that "the actual effective date of the termination of employment will be the time and date of the sale." Seneca said the effective date of the sale could be as early as Sept. 10. The actual effective date for the sale is expected to be Sept. 16, according to sources familiar with the pending transaction.
Highland Forest Products has more than 100 employees at the Marienville sawmill. Many of the employees are from the Kane area.
Seneca a decade ago operated sawmills in Kersey, Hazen and Kane as well as the lone remaining one in Marienville. The Kane sawmill along Route 6 in Wetmore Township just east of the borough "suspended" operations in October 2008 and has never re-opened.
A website on the internet claims that the sawmill in Marienville has estimated annual revenues between $50 million and $100 million.
ITL has 11 facilities, including its corporate offices in Beachwood, Ohio.
ITL operates a sawmill and dry kiln operation off Route 948 in Montmorenci near Ridgway. ITL also operates a sawmill and dry kiln at Endeavor near Tionesta in Forest County.
The sale of the Marienville sawmill apparently ends timber-processing activities for Seneca, which is a division of National Fuel Gas based in Williamsville near Buffalo.
"The Marienville sawmill is our last," Nancy Taylor, a National Fuel spokeswoman, told The Kane Republican. "Sale of it will end our sawmill involvement."
She did not reveal specifics of the proposed deal with ITL.
However, she said "it is our understanding that this (the Marienville sawmill) will be run as a going concern" by the buyer.
Taylor said Seneca Resources "does intend to maintain ownership of the Kane property and it may be used for multiple purposes as the company finds necessary."
She said the Kane complex may be used "to store pipe." However, she pointed out that the complex "will not be used as a sawmill" again.
The pending sale of its last sawmill is another indication that Seneca Resources is devoting its assets to the development of Marcellus Shale natural gas wells. Seneca already has drilled several of the deep wells in the Kane area. There is speculation that the former sawmill in Kane will become a base for area drilling operations for the company.
Seneca is the exploration and production segment of National Fuel, an integrated energy company with $5 billion in assets.
Even though some or all of the employees at the Marienville sawmill could be retained by the new owner, Seneca issued termination notices to the workers in advance of the pending sale.
According to a company statement, Seneca also sent notices to Doug Caldwell, mayor of Kane; Howard Kane, president of the Kane Borough Council; Joe DeMott, chairman of the McKean County Board of Commissioners; Greg Geyer, chairman of the Jenks Township Board of Supervisors in Marienville; R. James Parrett, chairman of the Forest County Board of Commissioners; and the state Department of Labor and Industry.
Seneca-- through its affiliate Highland Forest Products-- acquired the Marienville sawmill in 1998. A company known as North East Hardwoods formed in 1988 and opened the Marienville sawmill in 1989. The three principals in North East included Dave Kiehl, Mark Hitchcock and Dave Anderson.
Kiehl is a familiar face in Kane as the coach of the girls varsity basketball team at Kane Area High School.
Founded in 1952, ITL is known as one of the premier manufacturers and producers of hardwood lumber. ITL, which claims it is one of the largest hardwood suppliers in the U.S., owns in excess of 35,000 acres of timberland-- mostly in Pennsylvania.
According to a website, ITL "processes and sells over 200 million board feet of hardwood lumber annually."
"ITL believes that its greatest resource is its people," the company pointed out on its website. "People you can trust. We understand that the skills and dedication of our workers is our most important asset. Working together is not just talk at ITL. It is what we do best."
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 22 July 2010 )
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