Shaw Closes Maine Plant

Shaw Industries (Dalton, Ga.) closed its Appalachian Katahdin flooring veneer mill in Patten, Maine, on July 21, according to Don Finkell, president hard surface at Shaw; 18 of the mill's employees were offered positions at Shaw's other veneer facility in South Carolina. Reasons cited for the closing include declining demand, rising raw material costs and increasing transportation costs. Anderson Flooring re-opened the plant in 2004; Shaw purchased Anderson in 2007. Shaw Industries is a subsidiary of conglomerate holding company Berkshire Hathaway (Omaha, Neb.).