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Weldon, North Carolina- Recent news from Canfor Lumber suggested that it has retreated its plans in Georgia as North Carolina and it’s Halifax County commissioners were putting together an incentive package to retain the Roseburg project. Roanoke Valley Lumber was code named ”Project Big Rock” by local North Carolina officials.
The Lumber Game
The new ‘high tech” automated mill will be located on Watkins Drive. The news comes on the heels of other big player investments in the lumber and mill markets. Huber, Canfor, and J.P. Morgan are just a few recent articles we have covered showing both American and Canadian companies investing in the United States racing to solidify territories in the sky high lumber markets. Currently lumber commodity markets have been retreating on inflation while builders standing ground refuse to buy and build homes at the current prices… even canceling new home contracts. Although the lumber commodity is trending in the area of $700 MBF contractors are not seeing the fruition of these prices at the retail level as plywood and OSB sheet panel lumber are still selling and trading at the $1700-$2300 MBF price level if you can get it.
The announcement was made this week at Halifax Community College by Governor Roy Cooper. The company which already invested in 158,000 acres of forest land located in North Carolina and Virginia is creating 137 jobs.
Roseburg Senior Vice President of Operations Jake Elston said the company has had a presence in Halifax County since opening an office along Highway 125 and has been purchasing timber in northeastern North Carolina and southeastern Virginia, even before today’s announcement. Following its 2017 purchase of 158,000 acres of forest in North Carolina and Virginia, the business has become the largest private timberland owner in the Roanoke Valley area.
The plans set up the company to command a large chunk of business along the entire eastern coast of the Unites States with its low overheads and mass timber acreage compared to that of companies located in the North East heavily reliant on rail, Canada and imports.
| QUICK FACTS | |
| Jobs Created | 137 local jobs |
| Site Size | 200 acres |
| Facility Size | 375,000 square feet |
| Groundbreaking | Early 2022 |
| Anticipated Startup | Late 2022 |
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The state’s Economic Investment Committee authorized a Job Development Investment Grant for Roseburg earlier this week, which will help the city expand.
The project is expected to enhance the state’s economy by more than $511 million over the duration of the grant’s 12-year term.
The JDIG agreement enables a potential repayment to the company of up to $2,088,000 spread over 12 years, based on a formula that takes into consideration the extra tax revenues created by the 137 new employments.
Payments for all JDIGs are made only when the departments of Commerce and Revenue have verified that the company has met its $182 million incremental job creation and investment target.
Even after taking into account the grant’s reimbursement payments to a specific company, JDIG projects result in positive net tax revenue for the state treasury.
Over the next two years, 137 new positions are expected.
Roseburg now has 14 manufacturing plants in North America, including Dillard, Oregon, which houses the country’s second largest short timber stud mill. The corporation chose the location for this new mill with great care, based on factors such as market demand, business climate, and personnel readiness. The proximity of the chosen site to the company’s Roanoke Rapids timber management headquarters was also a consideration.
BID Group , a prime contractor that is a “go-to” sawmill and lumber production facility constructor has also been hired by Roseburg to design, build, and equip the sawmill. BID Group is also working on several other new mills nationwide including the now canceled Canfor project which it notified of previous obligations to Roseburg that may have tipped Canfor to readjust its strategy and location of the now canceled facility.
