140 jobs lost with plant closure in Duluth

DULUTH -- Georgia-Pacific will permanently close its Duluth hardboard plant at the end of the month, putting 140 employees out of work.

The property will be put up for sale, Eric Abercrombie, a company spokesman in Atlanta, said. “We are going to be looking to reallocate any useable equipment and sell the remaining asset,” he said.

The employees at the plant were notified of the decision Tuesday morning, after weeks of rumors about the plant’s future.

The plant at 1220 W. Railroad St. makes a thin hardboard product called Superwood that’s widely used in the auto industry. Georgia-Pacific will shift the manufacturing of Superwood to other facilities.

The plant will close Aug. 31, with manufacturing ending the day before.