CORDELE, Ga. - Norbord, one of the world's largest panel and oriented strand board (OSB) producers, will limit production at one of its plants in Southern Georgia. The Toronto-based company will shut down OSB production at the plant, laying off 45 workers.

 

Citing poor demand, Norbord will begin the shutdown mid-November. The reduction represents around 6 percent of the company's total North American output. Production will end indefinitely. 

 

“This is a difficult decision and a very disappointing outcome, but it reflects the economic realities facing our business,” said Peter Wijnbergen, Norbord’s President & CEO. “We have an experienced, hard-working team at Cordele and we thank them for their commitment to the company, our customers and our suppliers.”

 

Production has been in a reduced state since last month. Because of the reduction, the company will record a non-cash impairment charge of $10 million (pre-tax) against the carrying value of the Cordele mill’s fixed assets as part of its third quarter 2019 earnings results.

 

Norbord says it will continue to serve its North American customers without interruption.

 

Norbord Inc. is a global manufacturer of wood-based panels and it says it's the world’s largest producer of OSB. In addition to OSB, Norbord manufactures particleboard, medium density fiberboard and related value-added products. Norbord has assets of approximately $1.9 billion and employs approximately 2,500 people at 17 plant locations in the United States, Canada and Europe.