
Ground was broken Wednesday (June 18, 2025) just west of
Monticello for Weyerhaeuser's state-of-the-art facility that
will produce TimberStrand-engineered wood products.
The plant, expected to begin operations in 2027, will be located
at Lipton Industrial Park, south of U.S. 278 across from the
Monticello Sports Complex, located about 4 miles west of the
Drew County seat. It was announced last November Weyerhaeuser
would invest about $500 million to expand its engineered wood
products capacity.
The facility will have an annual production capacity of 10
million cubic feet, comparable to an existing TimberStrand
facility in the Canadian province of Ontario.
"We've had tremendous support, not only from local leaders and
businesspeople, but also from regional and state-elected
officials and members of the community," said Brian Chaney,
senior vice president of wood products at Weyerhaeuser. "This is
the first new facility Weyerhaeuser has built in many years, and
the fact that we're doing it here in southeast Arkansas is a
testament to the support this region has shown for the project,
the leadership of the people involved and the optimism we have
in the forest products industry in this state."
TimberStrand is a wood product that will mostly be made from the
Southern yellow pine grown on Weyerhaeuser's regional
timberlands. It is described as being engineered for
straightness and strength, not twisting or flexing like
dimensional lumber.
Weyerhaeuser expects to generate more than $100 million of
annual adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation
and amortization, at full operating capacity and add nearly 200
jobs in the area, once the facility is fully operational.
Weyerhaeuser currently employs 719 in Arkansas.
Source: pbcommercial.com