The Weyerhaeuser Company, one of the world’s largest private owners of timberlands, has announced plans to invest around $500 million in the construction of a new cutting-edge TimberStrand factory in south Arkansas.
This investment is expected to generate around 200 high-quality jobs in the area surrounding Monticello and Warren. The new factory would increase Weyerhaeuser’s capacity for engineered wood products by over 10 million cubic feet per year.
By employing southern yellow pine as its principal feedstock, the company will be able to make TimberStrand, a laminated strand lumber, at its Arkansas facility and then provide the plant’s electrical demands through a biomass-fueled cogeneration system.
“This $500 million investment and 200 new jobs are pivotal for towns like Monticello and Warren,” Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders stated. “I was at the University of Arkansas at Monticello last month to break ground on a new Forest Research Center my administration helped fund by directing $16 million to the school. Between Weyerhaeuser’s announcement and UAM’s expansion, we’re growing that portion of the state and investing in Arkansas’ forestry industry for generations to come.”
With this new facility, Weyerhaeuser will now have three production sites in Arkansas, in addition to a plywood/veneer plant in Emerson and a lumber mill in Dierks.
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Weyerhaeuser presently employs more than 700 individuals around the state. The new facility’s construction is anticipated to commence in 2025, and operations are scheduled to formally start in late 2027.
