PORT TOWNSEND — Charlie Hodges has resigned as chief executive officer of Port Townsend Paper Corp., and Dale Stahl, executive chairman of PT Holdings Co. has taken his place.
Roger Looney, president of Port Townsend Paper Co., will continue running the mill, which is the largest private employer in Jefferson County, having nearly 300 employees.
Looney will report to Stahl.
Stahl announced the change in a memo sent to Port Townsend Paper mill employees.
He said that Hodges — who took the reins of the Port Townsend Paper Corp. mill and the company’s box-making facilities in Canada from John Begley on April 30, 2008 — had resigned to “return full time to his home and other business interests in the Southwest,” according to the memo, which the company released to the Peninsula Daily News on Friday.
Chuck Madison, vice president of human resources at the Port Townsend mill, said he had no comment, in compliance with the company’s policy of making no statements to the media.
Chairman
Stahl, 63, has served as executive chairman of PT Holdings Company Inc. since January, according to Forbes.
Stahl said while he will assume the role of CEO, Hodges will “advise during the transition period through the month of September.
“Going forward, Charlie has agreed to consult with the company on an as-needed basis,” Stahl said in the memo.
“During the last three years, [Hodges] has led the company through the very difficult times that resulted from the worldwide recession and its adverse effect on the demand and price for our products,” Stahl said a statement.
Stahl said Hodges “has been instrumental in developing new strategies, recruiting additional talent to the company, reorganizing operations and executing capital improvement projects that have established a stronger base for the company’s success.”
35 years experience
He noted that Hodges, a former Georgia Pacific executive, became a Port Townsend Holdings Co. board member in 2007 after 35 years of experience in the industry.
Port Townsend Paper, which is owned by PT Holdings Co., produces unbleached pulp and containerboard.
Stahl served as president, chief executive officer and chief operating officer of Inland Paperboard and Packaging Inc., a manufacturer of containerboard and corrugated boxes, from 2000 through 2003, Forbes said, adding that he was president and CEO of Gaylord Container Corp. before that.
Stahl lives in Florida, according to The Leader, a weekly newspaper in Port Townsend.