Andover mill closing in August

ANDOVER -- Furniture manufacturer Ethan Allen, deeply impacted by the recession, announced last Wednesday it is closing its Andover sawmill and dimension mill operation in late August, leaving 60 workers 60 days to seek other employment.
     
     Ethan Allen Interiors Inc. announced the consolidation of its Andover sawmill and dimension mill to its Beecher Falls, VT sawmill and dimension mill operations. The company will also consolidate machining, assembly and finishing operations from the Beecher Falls plant to its Orleans, VT plant.
     
     The company will also continue operations in its case goods plant at Old Fort, NC. This consolidation will also impact approximately 260 people at the Beecher Falls location.
     
     Andover Selectman Susan Merrow said that the business has $3.3 million in personal property, which represents a lot in taxes to the town. "It will have more of an impact (financial) on the town next year."
     
     And even though only a quarter of those jobs belonged to Andover residents, she said the effect will be felt locally as people commuting from other towns, including 27 from Rumford and Mexico, frequented Andover's stores and other businesses.
     
     Merrow said a pair of local businesses, Irving Forest Products and Saunders Bros., has made it known that they may have job openings that could be a fit for some of these workers.
     
     Further, it's also a tough loss from an historical viewpoint as the mill has been a part of the town for some time. "It's part of the dwindling of the saw mill."
     
     Farooq Kathwari, chairman and CEO for Ethan Allen, commented, "We very much regret the impact of this realignment to our Andover and affected Beecher Falls associates. This consolidation provides an opportunity to our remaining associates in Vermont to resume a more normal work schedule."
     
     Kathwari further commented, "While the severe recession has resulted in many challenges it has also accelerated our process of reinvention. We have one of the largest U.S. based home furnishings manufacturing operations, which we are committed to maintaining. Currently about 65% of our
     
     products are made in the U.S. This realignment provides us an opportunity to maintain a competitive advantage from manufacturing in the U.S."
     
     In its third-quarter sales and earnings report, Ethan Allen recorded retail-delivered sales down 41.8 percent in the three months ending on March 31, compared to the prior year's third quarter. Wholesale sales were $88.1 million, compared to $156.3 million in the prior year's quarter.