Pope & Talbot announces organizational changes

Jul 31, 2007. /Lesprom Network/. Pope & Talbot, Inc. announced on July 30, 2007 two key personnel changes that are part of an ongoing restructuring designed to significantly improve the delivery of critical corporate functions. The company's human resources and safety departments will be consolidated and managed by newly-named vice president for human resources Beth Hardman, a long-time Pope & Talbot executive who has held a variety of key positions in the company. Hardman will be charged with creating a world class safety organization, streamlining HR and safety operations between the corporate and mill levels, as well as coordinating upcoming bargaining efforts for 2008 labor agreements. In a related move, Kyle Gray, operations controller and 32-year veteran of Pope & Talbot, has been charged with streamlining mill accounting and reporting, and standardizing financial processes across the mill system. In announcing the changes, CEO Harold Stanton said, "Beth and Kyle are both talented managers who have a deep understanding of and commitment to this organization. The structure we are creating in both their areas will go a long way toward removing redundancies, improving accuracy and speeding the delivery of these key corporate functions. Moving forward, we will continue to evaluate other opportunities as successes and challenges of the new centralized organization are realized." Pope & Talbot is a pulp and wood products business. The company is based in Portland, Oregon and traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Pope & Talbot was founded in 1849 and produces market pulp and softwood lumber at mills in the US and Canada. Markets for the company's products include the US, Europe, Canada, South America and Pacific Rim countries.