More than 30 business leaders and government officials met Friday in Missoula to discuss ways to keep western Montana's wood products industry afloat after two sawmills announced their closures last month. He is one of the potential buyers of the factory.
Pyramid Mountain Lumber in Seeley Lake and Roseburg Forest Products in Missoula have both announced they will soon close. But following Friday's meeting to discuss the closures, local business leaders said they were optimistic one of the factories could remain open.
Grant Kier heads the Missoula Economic Partnership and helped organize the conference. He said representatives of potential buyers interested in purchasing Pyramid Mountain Lumber were in attendance.
“I'm more hopeful now than I was a few weeks ago. I think if there's any place in the world that can save a mill, it's going to be western Montana and Seeley Lake,” Kier told MTPR after the meeting. Ta.
Missoula County Commissioner Josh Slotnick told MTPR that the federal government has floated the idea of helping the buyer secure between $40 million and $60 million in financing to modernize the sawmill. Slotnick said these upgrades could allow labor-strapped factories to function with fewer employees.
The Missoula Economic Partnership Agreement did not allow MTPR or other members of the media to observe the meeting. Grant Kier, the group's director, said this was done to protect the privacy of parties interested in purchasing the factory.
Kier said the group also discussed ways to help workers displaced by the closure of Roseburg Forest Products transition into new careers.
