![]() “And, most importantly, we did that without jeopardizing the safety of our employees. “It was a real testimony to the efforts of the good people of the Cloquet plant, that we really didn’t miss a beat in services to our customers,” Quintana said. As a result, production was only shut down for five days and the Cloquet plant didn’t miss a single customer order. USG avoided significant damage by installing the flood gates. “… when all was said and done, the water was about eight inches from the top of the gates.” “We had consulted with the engineer about the area’s 500-year flood plain - and then added another foot,” said then-plant-manager Bill Schmitt in a 2012 interview with the Pine Journal. USG spent half a million dollars on that flood prevention plan in the six months before the June 2012 flood, and it all paid off. “Our hazard consultants recognized we were at risk,” he said, explaining that the company’s insurance carrier had been working with USG since 2010, urging them to consider a “top notch” flood containment plan that would involve the installation of flood gates at the entrances and ramps of the mill’s vulnerable lower levels. Quintana wasn’t at USG when massive flash floods hit Carlton County in 2012, but the new plant manager had high praise for the foresight and actions taken before the flood that kept the plant safe and mostly dry. If they didn’t, they wouldn’t have invested in ,” he added, gesturing at the draped front entrance and hallways lined with unpainted drywall. “I think it’s a great investment in the Cloquet operation, and it’s an important signal to employees and the community USG has a lot of confidence in our plant. “I believe in order for us to increase the volume and grow our business, we needed to improve our environmental emissions system,” he said. Improved emissions could allow the plant to expand its operations even further. The environmental projects will result in improved emissions, he said. “That, along with significant investments in environmental projects dealing with emissions, really show the commitment that corporate USG has in the sustainability of the Cloquet operations.”Īlthough he declined to give a specific dollar figure for the various investments, Quintana did say that the environmental improvements as well as planning and building the new line required “tens of millions of dollars.” ![]() “It’s been about an 18-month project,” Quintana said. The biggest change will come in the first quarter of this year, when the company plans to start up a new production line. Employee facilities from the break room to locker rooms are being renovated, as are the company’s offices. However, he explained, volume improved and business is steady, so USG is making investments in the facility here. “Business here is good, but like all businesses, we went through some difficulties during the recession.” “I think we turned a corner in regard to the overall economy in the U.S.” Quintana said. Much of USG was in “remodeling mode” for the last half of 2013. Quintana started working full time in Cloquet the last weekend of July and it’s been full-speed-ahead ever since. He noted that the Cloquet USG plant exports to every state in the country from Seattle to New York. ![]() “This big plant covers about 125 acres, and that’s all we make, is acoustical ceiling tiles,” Quintana said, explaining that USG purchased the plant and its surroundings from Conwed in 1985. The main business of USG nationwide, Quintana explained, is fabricating sheetrock, but the Cloquet facility is a different branch of the USG Corporation. The Cloquet plant, in comparison, employs approximately 380 people. It was a smaller plant, employing about 30 people who manufactured the grid suspension system for acoustical tiles. Quintana spent the last nine years managing a USG manufacturing plant near Atlanta, Georgia. The end result is ceiling tiles suitable for a range of rooms, from a basement rec room to advanced offices in New York and Seattle. Although all three lines make acoustical ceiling tiles, each line uses a different process. Quintana worked under Schmitt between 19, so he is no stranger to the plant or the area.Īt that time, Quintana managed one of USG’s three production departments. Quintana officially took over as plant manager of the USG Interiors Cloquet plant on May 1, replacing Bill Schmitt, who retired. “It’s been a great career and a great company,” he said.
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