New Mexico wood products company Mount Taylor Manufacturing criticizes U.S. forest management policies, looks at benefits of regional forestry restoration projects

Lorena Madrigal

LOS ANGELES , September 13, 2011 (Forestweb) – New Mexico's Mount Taylor Manufacturing LLC cut its workforce from 96 to 23, changed its name, and switched its product line from molding to wood pellets because of government policies on forest management and on cheap imports, said a company official, the Cibola Beacon reported Sept. 12.

Matt Allen, one of the company owners, said the policies have led to overgrowth and fires in U.S. forests, while the government allows imports of less-expensive Chinese wood products.
The company held a round-table last week in Milan, New Mexico, on the multiple benefits of forestry restoration projects in the region. The discussion was attended by U.S. Sen. Tom Udall, the Cibola Beacon reported.

Brothers Matt and Hardy Allen closed their Mount Taylor Millworks Inc. in 2010 and it has been replaced as Mount Taylor Manufacturing LLC.

Matt Allen said imports of less expensive Chinese wood products have led to closure of what he estimates at 3,000 molding companies in the U.S., the Cibola Beacon reported.
After it closed its own molding facility, the Milan-based company began producing livestock bedding and garden mulch, and plans to buy de-barking equipment to produce landscaping mulch.

The company continues to operate a wood pellet production facility opened in 2002 in Albuquerque, manufacturing 10 to 12 million tons a year, the Cibola Beacon reported.
Mt. Taylor is working with the U.S. Forest Service, Mt. Taylor Ranger District, the state and other forestry industry members on harvesting and utilization of small-diameter biomass, according to the company website.

The primary source of this article is the Cibola Beacon, Grants, New Mexico, on Sept. 12, 2011.

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