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Linden Lumber likely to be sold Linden Lumber may come under new ownership soon. Marengo County attorney Woody Dinning told the Mobile Press-Register this week that the troubled hardwood lumber company may be purchased by Rossi American Hardwoods. The Marengo County Commission approved a $1.5 million seven-year loan and a 10-year tax break on the property this month for Rossi. Trying to stave off cheap imports and bigger competitors the Overmyer family, owners of Linden Lumber tried a number of avenues to save the company, including getting a commitment from Marengo County that would loan Linden Lumber $7 million it would pay back over 20 years instead of the next two years, as reported by The Thomasville Times in September of 2007. Wachovia Bank also restructure the deal where the debt would have been written down from $21 million to $12 million. The principal and interest payments would have been $1.5 million per year as opposed to $4.1 million. The deal delayed Wachovia and the Federal Land Bank from foreclosing on the property, but county officials say none of that money was spent. Later that same year, Linden Lumber laid off about half its workforce, dropping its employment rolls from 425 employees to about 200. The company had been going through a restructuring for a few years. Company officials admit their failure to establish a factory finish business hurt the company's bottom line. "It was a mistake that we got into it," said Terry Dunnam, chief executive officer at Linden Lumber. "We bled a lot of money out of this company with that mistake. The Chinese imported a lot of material - because of cheap labor - and we couldn't compete with them. We could not get our product to the marketplace cheaper than the Chinese and the 800-pound gorilla called Armstrong." Prior to these latest events, Linden Lumber closed its Thomasville mill in 2005, and the property was auctioned in October.
Rossi American Hardwoods is based in Cromwell, Conn.
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