Last logs run through Pyramid Mountain Lumber

The last of the log inventory at Pyramid Mountain Lumber was run through the sawmill on July 3.

The mill, which announced its closure in March due to a workforce shortage largely attributed to the cost of living in the Seeley Lake area, stopped accepting new log inventory on March 31 and has so far laid off no more than 10 people, said Pyramid Mountain Lumber General Manager Todd Johnson.

As of July 3, the sawmill department of the mill has ceased operation. The boiler and kiln department will continue to operate through the first couple of weeks of August, during which the largest layoff of employees will occur, Johnson said. The maintenance department is helping prepare the mill's equipment for auction, which will be sometime in September or October. The last load of lumber is expected to be shipped off property around that same time.

Johnson said one potential buyer is still in conversation with Pyramid leadership about purchasing the mill. Their business model is very different from how Pyramid currently operates, Johnson said, and added that if they do purchase it, it won't look anything like it does now.

It would take more extensive modernization of Pyramid to deal with the smaller diameter logs the mill has been processing - which don't result in as many board feet per hour - and to use a smaller workforce, Johnson said. The company's taken a step in automation by moving decisions from operators to computers, but the next step would be more full automation, Johnson said, to reduce the amount of people needed to operate the mill, which comes with a very big price tag.

Any potential buyer that can operate a mill on the site would be helpful, Johnson said. The further one has to haul timber, the more expensive it gets, he said.

"Having somebody on this plant site is good for everybody," Johnson said. "Not just our employees and the town, but it's also good for anybody who has timber and is processing timber."