Prineville Plant May Fill In For Quake-Hit Chile Facility

Chile’s devastating earthquake could have an impact on at least one business here on the High Desert. Woodgrain Millwork Inc. in Prineville has a sister plant in Chile that was hit hard by the 8.8-magnitude quake, which killed hundreds of people and left millions homeless.

“We have some damage to the facility – at this point we do not know to what extent,” Benji Barron, Woodgrain’s Prineville general manager, said Tuesday.

Barron says the plant in Chile has no power or running water, but fortunately, no workers were hurt when the quake hit.

“The first couple days were spent making sure that employees were safe and taken care of,” he said.

Woodgrain (www.woodgrain.com) hopes to have its Chile plant up and running in less than 30 days. Until then, production in Prineville could fill those orders.

“We may see a short term blip, to cover those needs,” Barron said. “But the manufacturing capacity will go back to Chile as soon as practical.”

Barron adds that’sit’s still unclear whether the Prineville mill will need to hire extra help, or just give more hours to people already on the payroll.

“We don’t want to bring more people onto work unless we have work for them,” he said.

Woodgrain Millwork started as a small moulding mill in the small town of Cedar City, Utah. It has now grown to a multi-million dollar business, with dozens of locations. It’s one the largest millwork companies in the world.