Latin American panel producer Masisa has announced the permanent closure of its Carlos Puschmann particleboard line located in Valdivia, southern Chile with the loss of 49 jobs.
In addition, the Santiago, Chile-based group is preparing to shut down the panel laminating and door lines in Valdivia in September 2012, resulting in a further 38 redundancies. Masisa aims to switch both operations closer to its main markets.
One of the group’s oldest panel facilities, the Puschmann plant has a 90,000m3/year capacity.
Last December, Masisa also finally shut down its old established and now uncompetitive 89,000m3/year particleboard plant at Chiguayante with a loss of around 60 jobs.
The latest moves are part of Masisa’s national plant modernisation and rationalisation programme, which saw the launch of Chile’s first MDP (medium density particleboard) line last July.
