Eugene fiberboard mill to close, lay off 84

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) -- A Chilean company has notified Oregon state officials that it will shutter a fiberboard mill it operates in Eugene and lay off all 84 workers on May 1.

The Oregonian/OregonLive reports Arauco North America said the closure results from an “economic imbalance” in the U.S. market for medium-density fiberboard. The company said it will shift its Eugene production work to its other U.S. facilities.

The Eugene facility opened in 1962 as a particleboard mill, according to the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce, and became a fiberboard mill in 1995. The chamber says Arauco uses local lumber mill byproducts and converts them into fiberboard for home construction.