When the last monster roll of thick paper pulp came off the production line Wednesday, it marked the end of an era as Alaska's last pulp mill shut down and a region that thrived on logging now looks for new growth industries.
A money-loser for years, Ketchikan Pulp Co. is closing its pulp mill after four decades as the biggest employer in this remote southeast Alaska island town.The aging plant needed up to $200 million in improvements, said corporate parent Louisiana Pacific Corp. of Portland, Ore.
Unlike other towns that face factory closings, Ketchikan does not have roads leading out so people can commute to new jobs in the next town. That has left many of the 500 mill workers losing their jobs wondering if they can find work that pays as well in a town where low-paying tourism jobs and seasonal seafood work account for much of the employment.
"Not a chance," said Bruce Romine, who worked at the mill for 10 years. "Not it in this town, anyway." Severance pay amounted to a year's wages or more for some longtime employees, many of whom plan to take the summer off to relax and think about their futures.
"People are going to go out fishing and hunting, then when the money runs out, the days start getting short, we get into November and December, that's when the problems are going to happen," said Paul Lamm, who worked at the mill for 17 years. "That's when the depression will hit."
For just about everyone else in this Alaska Panhandle island town of 15,000, the impact is already being felt. Car and boat sales have plummeted. The housing market has been flooded and other businesses have cut back on staff and employees hours. A local shipping company is hauling in about 20 percent less freight and shipping out more household belongings as people move away.
"There's still going to be a town here," said David Curtis of Alaska Marine Lines. "It's just not going to be as prosperous as it used to be."
"I don't think there's one person on this island who won't be affected by the pulp mill's closure," said Teresa Garland, who heads the chamber of commerce.
The mill has run around the clock almost every day since 1954, except for brief maintenance shutdowns and a couple of labor disputes. As Alaska's last working pulp mill, it survived in an industry where production has gradually shifted overseas.
Alaska Pulp Corp. shut down its pulp mill in nearby Sitka four years ago. Both pulp companies had been nearing the end of 50-year contracts with the U.S. Forest Service to cut timber in the Tongass National Forest, deals the federal government struck in the 1950s to spur job development in southeast Alaska's isolated communities.
Once the last of the finished pulp rolled off the lines, workers were to stay on the job anywhere from a week to a month doing mop-up chores. Management said virtually the entire work force should be laid off by the end of April.