Timber and paper products giant Weyerhaeuser Co. of Seattle, Washington, on Monday announced plans to expand its presence in Arkansas with an estimated $500 million investment in a new facility near Monticello and Warren.
The project is expected to create 200 jobs in the region and expand Weyerhaeuser’s engineered wood products (EWP) capacity by about 10 million cubic feet annually. Using Southern yellow pine as the primary feedstock, Weyerhaeuser will manufacture TimberStrand, its laminated strand lumber, and use a biomass-fueled cogeneration system to fully supply the plant’s electrical needs.
The manufacturing facility would be Weyerhaeuser’s third in Arkansas. The publicly traded company (NYSE: WY) also has a lumber mill in Dierks and a plywood and veneer plant in Emerson, along with a seedling nursery and multiple offices.
Weyerhaeuser currently employs more than 700 people across Arkansas.
“This is an exciting opportunity to grow our EWP business, expand TimberStrand into the U.S. South and provide an additional outlet for our fiber logs in Arkansas,” Devin Stockfish, the company’s president and CEO, said in a news release. “Of the wood products we produce, EWP has the strongest tie to single-family housing construction activity, and this new facility aligns with our conviction that U.S. housing demand will remain favorable over the long term.
Stockfish said the plant will also support the company’s broader sustainability ambitions. Those goals, according to the company’s website, include mitigating climate change through forest carbon markets and reduced emissions; providing sustainable housing by promoting innovative wood-building materials and sustainable building standards; and supporting rural communities by identifying areas with the greatest need for investments and providing career opportunities.
Construction on the south Arkansas facility is expected to begin in 2025. Operations are planned to start in late 2027.
Weyerhaeuser, which operates as a real estate investment trust, owns or controls about 10.5 million acres of timberlands in the U.S., including 1.2 million acres in south Arkansas.
The company in 2023 reported net earnings of $839 million, or $1.15 per share, on net sales of $7.7 billion.
“Looking forward, we maintain a constructive outlook for the demand fundamentals that support growth for our businesses, and we remain focused on serving our customers and driving long-term value for our shareholders,” Stockfish said in the company’s latest earnings report.
The project in south Arkansas qualified for the following state incentives: the Tax Back program, which provides sales and use tax refunds on the purchase of building materials and taxable machinery; 10 years of the Create Rebate program, an annual cash rebate based on the number of jobs added by a company and targeted wages; and $6 million in Community Development Block Grants.
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