TURNERS FALLS — Following the abrupt closure of the Turners Falls Paper Company, state Senate President Stanley Rosenberg is asking out-of-work employees to call the Franklin-Hampshire Career Center for job assistance.
Rosenberg said he was surprised to hear about the closure on Wednesday and looked to see if any state agencies had been contacted by the paper company to arrange help with unemployment services for the 60 or so laid-off employees. None had, so those state agencies began mobilizing Thursday. The career center can be reached at 413-774-4361 or fhcc-onestop.com.
Edie Smith, the business operations director for the Franklin-Hampshire Career Center, at 1 Arch Place in Greenfield, encouraged anyone who is out of work from the mill to call the career center.
Penny Menard, the business services coordinator for the center, said that about half a dozen manufacturing companies have reached out to the center to help coordinate with reaching the laid off employees. She said they’re in the early stages of planning a recruitment event or job fair for those who lost their jobs. All services the center provide are free.
The center can also help with questions on unemployment benefit claims and any additional questions. She recommends that anyone looking for a job just stop by the center.
“It’s scary, there’s a lot of emotion and we get it,” she said. “Just come in.”
In a press release sent late Thursday afternoon, Southworth, which owned Turners Falls Paper Co., announced the layoff, which was reported Wednesday.
“Southworth Co. announced today that it had laid off employees at its locations in Turners Falls, Agawam and Seattle,” The release said. “The layoff is a result of the corporation’s inability to obtain financing for its current operations from its secured lenders.”
The release also said the company is working with lenders to secure that current orders are completed. The release was sent by John Leness, president of the Madison Park Group, another Southworth brand based in Seattle.
If those out of work have additional questions, Rosenberg said to call his district office at 413-587-6309.
“We’re working with the career center and some state agencies so we can bring the rapid response team in to work with the employees,” he said.
He said they will be collecting names and emails to help keep people informed of updates.
“It works much better when you work through the employer, but since that didn’t happen, we’re trying to Band-Aid this situation,” he said.
He said that the response has been a mix of the career center, the state and his district office and the town of Montague.
He said that first and foremost, the biggest concern is the employees from the mill, but he expressed frustration with the company’s apparent decision to not reach out to local or state resources.
“Now it really is about the employees first,” he said.
Closure of Turners Falls Paper, formerly known as the Southworth, and before 2006 as Esleeck Manufacturing Co., leaves questions about the future of the building the company occupied on the island between Turners Falls power canal and the Connecticut River near the former Strathmore mill now owned by the town.
Charles Blanker, a former executive at the mill in the Esleeck days who stayed on with Southworth having worked at the historic mill since 1973, said company executives informed the Turners Falls staff about the closing when they got to work at 9 a.m. Wednesday.
The announcement was sudden. But closure wasn’t completely unexpected. Blanker said they were told the company no longer had the financing to continue operations.
He said executives had names of other places that may be hiring, but didn’t have other employment assistance.
The company traces its history back to 1839 and has been a privately owned company. Southworth bought Esleeck and the mill in 2006. Esleeck had opened its mill in 1900.
In 2012, Southworth announced that it would sell one of its brands to another paper producer, Neenah Paper Inc., but kept its Turners Falls mill running. In that same time frame, Southworth bought the Madison Park Group, a marketer of greeting cards and specialty stationery in Seattle.
Public town records list Southworth Co., with an address of 265 Main St. in Agawam, as owning eight properties in town worth a total of $2,578,300.
Montague Town Administrator Steve Ellis said the town is “hopeful that the building will quickly return to productive use and will work to actively support that outcome.”
Reach Miranda Davis at
413-772-0261, ext. 280
or mdavis@recorder.com.