Huttig Building Products revealed today it will close its Anchorage, Alaska, branch in the fourth quarter of 2009 as part of its ongoing effort to adjust to the housing downturn. Since mid-2006, the St. Louis-based building products distributor has closed, consolidated or sold 20 distribution centers, leaving it with approximately 27, and has reduced its workforce by more than half, to 1,000 employees. The Anchorage facility would be the third it will have shuttered since Jan. 1.
Huttig said in an SEC filing that it expected to incur $500,000 to $700,000 in operating charges as a result of the decision. It said it plans to serve "a significant portion" of its Anchorage customers from a distribution facility in Auburn, Wash.
In May, the company reported its net loss deepened to $14.3 million in the first quarter from a $9.8 million net loss in the year-earlier period. Sales fell 40% from the year-earlier period to $100 million in the January-March quarter.
