Kaplan Lumber Company closed last week, citing the economic downturn as one of the major reasons for shutting its doors. The business has been around for 83 years, according to Tom Glosier, spokesman for owner Leonard Kaplan. The company moved the majority of its operation from St. Peters to Wright City in 2006, around the same time the area was experiencing a housing explosion. However, due to the current recession, the housing industry has been hit hard. "It's the state of the industry," Glosier said. "It was a business decision on (Leonard Kaplan's) part." The company had about 35 employees, Glosier said. When the company moved its lumber company portion to Wright City three years ago, more than 100 people were employed at the time. Since then, nearly half of the work force was let go in an attempt to lower expenses. Kaplan Lumber operated out of a 160,000-square-foot facility located on the South Outer Road near Stracks Church Road. The company still had an office in St. Peters. Karen Girondo, economic development director for Wright City, said the area is losing a "civic-minded" business. "It's 30 people that won't be spending money in the city," she said. "It is a loss." Prior to Kaplan Lumber purchasing the building, the facility had been vacant for nearly two years. The building's previous tenant was Rite Paper, a manufacturing company that specialized in ready-to-assemble furniture, Girondo said. One of Kaplan Lumber's employees was Greg Pritchett, who served as president-elect of the Wright City Area Chamber of Commerce and was in-line to be president in 2010. He has since resigned his position on the Chamber board of directors. Pritchett had worked at Kaplan for six years. "It saddened us more than anything," he said. "It's been slow and we've cut back." At a Wright City board of aldermen meeting Dec. 10, Girondo said the Missouri Career Center in Warrenton will assist displaced employees. According to the latest figures released by Missouri Economic Research and Information Center (MERIC), Warren County's unemployment rate for October was 11.1 percent, the same figure as in September. The employment report had the county's labor force at 16,040 people, with 1,774 unemployed. The jobless rate had topped out at 13 percent in January and has not dropped lower than 10.5 percent in April.