Collins, a leading provider of high-quality lumber and wood products, has temporarily suspended operations at its Chester facility due to an extended power outage.
The Chester location, which has laid off 82 employees, includes a sawmill, dry kilns, planer and cogeneration facility and has been unable to operate and fulfill orders since the outage began.
The facility’s power provider, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, originally scheduled an outage from March 18 to March 23 but the outage has now been extended to April 7.
This sudden extension has left Collins with limited time to plan and mitigate the impacts on its employees and customers.
“Our goal during power outages is to utilize the downtime for critical maintenance projects, enabling us to keep employees engaged and minimize future disruptions,” said Larry Broadfoot, Chief Operating Officer of Collins. “This unexpected extension, however, has created significant challenges. We are working diligently to reduce the impact on our operations and are committed to resuming full operations as soon as power is restored.”
Collins hopes to collaborate with PG&E to improve coordination and minimize future disruptions, ensuring better preparation for outages.
The company remains dedicated to supporting its employees and providing exceptional service to its customers during this challenging period.
About Collins
Based in Oregon and family-owned since 1855, Collins produces softwoods, hardwoods and a line of engineered wood products. Collins upholds their long-standing commitment to land and resource stewardship with more than 370,000 acres of FSC-certified forest lands and five manufacturing facilities in Chester, California, Kane, Pennsylvania, Lakeview and Klamath Falls, Oregon.
Information Provided by Lassen News
