PORT ANGELES — A month after Klukwan Inc. issued a 60-day closure notice for its KPly plywood mill, the fate of the Marine Drive facility and its 132 employees remains unknown.
On Feb. 29, the Alaskan company notified the state Department of Employment Security and the company’s union, the Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local Lodge W2, that it planned to close the 67-year-old mill permanently on April 28.
The owners of the mill at 439 Marine Drive are seeking private, as well as state, financing in an attempt to re-open the mill, which has been idle since Nov. 2, state and union officials said earlier this month.
“Unfortunately, I really don’t have an update on KPly at all, said Lynn Longan, a state employee who was look for state programs to help the company, on Friday.
“I have not talked to anyone there in a few weeks.”
Longan is the Olympic Region manager of the International Trade and Economic Development Division of the state Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development.
The company, which has owned the mill since 1989, submitted its financial statements to the agency about three weeks ago, and Longan and her staff are reviewing those and exploring potential state loan programs.
