Anthony Forest Products Co. of El Dorado said Monday that its board of directors voted Friday not to rebuild its Atlanta, Texas saw mill, which was destroyed by fire Feb. 27.
"This is a very sad day for us, our family of employees, our business partners, and the community of Atlanta, Texas. We are disappointed," Aubra Anthony Jr., president and CEO of Anthony Forest, said in a news release.
"After extensive due diligence, there were two major problems: first, the exceptional business risk of the continuing weak demand for lumber for homebuilding, and second, the daunting financial risk of proposed new Environmental Protection Agency regulations related to industrial boilers using wood waste for fuel. These sealed the fate of this Anthony family legacy."
The company said the move means the loss of 78 jobs, $2.4 million in yearly payroll and more than $14 million annually through purchases of logs, mill supplies and services.
Atlanta, Texas is about 27 miles southeast of Texarkana.
Anthony Forest is an integrated forest products business begun in 1916. It operates a southern pine lumber mill in Urbana, just east of El Dorado; and wood chip mills in Plain Dealing, La., and Troup, Texas.
The company also operates engineered wood laminating plants in El Dorado and Washington, Ga.
Anthony Forest and Eacom Timber Corp. of Montreal, Canada jointly own and operate an I-joist manufacturing plant in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.