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Bearlodge Forest Products will cease operations Oct. 31, ending nearly 50 years in business in Hulett, Wy.
The family-owned company, which operates a sawmill and pallet manufacturing business, said the decision resulted from a combination of challenges, including rising operating costs, labor shortages, limited housing availability, and prolonged weakness in product pricing.
Owned by Doug and Dena Mills, Bearlodge has long served customers in the forest-products sector and maintained relationships with employees, contractors, vendors, and customers throughout its nearly five decades of operation. The company said no single factor led to the closure, but rather the cumulative impact of multiple business pressures.
The closure marks the end of one of Wyoming’s few pallet manufacturing operations and another longtime participant in the region’s forest-products industry.
The company is connected to the Neiman family, which moved to Wyoming in the mid-1930s and opened a sawmill in Hulett in 1939. Neiman Enterprises is a significantly larger Hulett mill owned by Jim Neiman.
