JACKSON CENTER, Pa. – An international supplier of timber and veneer products says that an unfavorable global trading climate has forced the company to close its manufacturing plant in Mercer County by August.
International Timber & Veneer, part of the IVC Group, announced that it would shut down operations by Aug. 18, a decision that will result in the layoff of 81 employees.
The veneer manufacturing plant was established in 1997 and has since processed logs into high-quality veneers for the company’s group-owned trading companies R. Ulrich & Co. and International Veneer Co., based in South Hill, Va., as well as veneer trading companies around the globe.
“Increasingly unpredictable customs policies, a tense international trade climate, and above all, the import ban on American logs into China, have made raw material procurement highly uncertain,” the company said in a statement. “Under these economic conditions, we no longer see a viable long-term outlook for the continued operation of International Timber & Veneer.”
In addition to challenges such as labor shortages and rising costs, the company cited “the current global economic and trade developments” as a decisive factor in its decision to close the plant.
China instituted a ban on logs imported from the United States in response to the Trump administration’s tariff policy, which instituted penalties of as much as 145% on Chinese goods shipped to the U.S. That number has since been trimmed to 30% as negotiators work on a new trade agreement between the countries.
A Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, or Warn, notice, was issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry last week.
Pictured at top: Photo via Facebook | International Timber & Veneer.