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STORY BY JOE MORRIS
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or 80 years, Longview Fibre has been an integral part of the city and region. And even after its recent sale to a Canadian firm, it remains one of the area’s largest employers and continues to be a dominant player in the local economy. The company generates an annual payroll of nearly $90 million, and local purchases and taxes paid generate an additional $80 million for the economy, says Curt Copenhagen, director of public affairs for Longview Fibre. The 1,700-employee mill in Longview
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the
LONGVIEW FIBRE TURNS A PAGE IN PLANT’S HISTORY
produces containerboard for seven of its plants in Western states, which turn that material into packaging for products ranging from food and wine to computers and appliances. Those plants are located in Seattle, Yakima and Longview, Wash.; Spanish Fork and Cedar City, Utah; Twin Falls, Idaho; and Oakland, Calif. The company also is an industry leader in the manufacture of kraft papers, which are converted by other firms into retail bags, multiwall sacks, fast-food takeout bags, papers for construction such as fiberglass insulation facing, food packaging, masking paper and other niche products, Copenhagen says.
Longview Fibre was founded in 1927 on the utilization of wastewood and continues to use those fibers in its production processes. It pioneered the utilization of Douglas fir chips in the commercial production of kraft board, wood that previously had been burned following lumber-plywood manu facturing. That innovative process was one of many pioneered by the company over the years as it grew to dominance in the industry. Over time, the company also has employed generations of Longview and Cowlitz County residents, including president and CEO R. H. Wollenberg, who COWLITZ CO U NT Y