Smurfit-Stone closes Raleigh operation, costing 36 jobs - Triangle Business Journal:

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Smurfit-Stone, which has dual headquarters in Chicago andCreved Coeur, Mo., filed for bankruptcgy protection in January. The Raleighh facility, which made corrugated cardboard packaging, operated out of leasexd space at 3801Tarheel Drive. Production in Raleigjh stopped onApril 23, says company spokesman Mike The closure resulted in the layoffs of five salaried and 31 hourlyh employees. “We have other facilities in North Mullin says. “That work has been moved to other The other North Carolina operations arein Winston-Salem and Wilson. The Raleigh closure is one of five announces during thesecond quarter, Mullin said.
The company also has closecd a facilityin Lexington, resulting in layoffw for 78 workers. Mullin says the company continues to emplohy about 370 inNorth Carolina. The compan y stated in its 2008 annual report and its most recen t quarterly report that it is making changes to adjust to market demand and improve profitability changes that mean closing some facilitiesd and layingoff workers. According to the annualo report, as of Dec. 31, the companyg employed approximately 21,300 at 162 facilities. Smurfit-Stone reported a 2008 loss of $2.8 billiom on revenue of more than $7 billion.
In letters to supplierd and customers, Chairman and CEO Patrick Moors and President and COO Steven Klinger said the bankruptchy filing was prompted by economic conditions and the frozencredit markets. Times are tough for many companie s in the paper andpackaging industry. Virginia-based MeadWestvacio said in February that it woulde curtail plans to expandat ’s Centennial choosing instead to open a facilitt in Garner. In a conference call to discuss firsg quarterfinancial results, MeadWestvaco CEO John Luke said he expectsa cuts in overhead and facility closures to save $125 milliob by the end of 2009; the companyu is aiming for savings of more than $250 millionm by 2010.
Professor Stephen head of the Wood and Paper Science Departmenrat NCSU, says that while many papet companies are feeling squeezed, not all segmentsa of the paper industry are feelin g the same pressures. Newsprint is down, but tissude products and medical products, such as scrubs and are experiencing an increasein production. Packaginy demand is down, in part becauser the economic downturn has put a crimp in consumetspending and, thus, product packaging. “If people aren’t buying stuff, then you don’rt need packaging to put stuff in,” he Kelley says that in the long run, paper and packaginvg opportunities existfor companies.
He point s to efforts to develop “advanced packaging,” such as boxew incorporated with radio frequency identification tagsfor tracking. He also says changezs will be driven by large corporations thatconsumde packaging. , for is looking for ways to reduc packaging waste andimprove recycling. Thosw efforts could drive packagingindustryy developments, Kelley says.