PORT TOWNSEND — A veteran paper mill executive in the U.S. and Canada joined Port Townsend Paper Corp. on Monday as general manager and vice president of operations at the Port Townsend mill.
Roger Loney takes the place of Bruce McComas, who was fired by the company last week after working for 24 years with the company.
Charlie Hodges, Port Townsend Paper president and CEO, said the decision to change mill managers was a decision reached by the board of directors, on which Hodges also sits.
“Bruce did an awful lot for the mill,” Hodges said. “He did an awful lot for this community.
“But looking at the situation long term, [the board of directors] wanted someone with a different set of capabilities.
“Roger has experience in turnovers and in what we’re doing here.”
Loney, 52, has 27 years experience in mill management and believes his experiences in Maine, Nova Scotia, Tennessee and Georgia will help him see Jefferson County’s largest private employer through what management believes is a transitional period.