Buoyed by "significant state and local incentives in support of the project," Canfor will start work on a new $160-million sawmill near DeRidder, Louisiana, the company said Tuesday.
About 130 people will work at the mill, scheduled to be up and running by late third quarter of next year, and produce as much as 250 million board feet on a two-shift basis.
“We are excited to grow our operating footprint with the greenfield project in Louisiana, which will increase our production capacity and allow us to meet the growing demands of our customers," CEO Don Kayne said in a statement.
"We also continue to invest significant capital in our British Columbia and U.S. South facilities to ensure we sustain our top quartile operations and strategically grow our global operating platform.”
The investment in Louisiana is in addition to $300 million of 2021 capital spending, including about $200 million for the solid wood and pulp operations in Western Canada and $100 million for the solid wood operations in the U.S. South, the company said.
"We welcome plans for this foreign direct investment in Louisiana by this industry leader, and we look forward to the good jobs this project is expected to create in Beauregard Parish for the region’s skilled workforce,” Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards said in the statement.
The company said it is "pleased to pleased to be receiving significant state and local incentives in support of the project." Terms of the incentives were not disclosed in the statement.
With the decision to build the mill in Louisiana, the Vancouver-based lumber and pulp producer said it will not be proceeding with the greenfield project in Washington, Georgia that was announced February 2018.
