The hits just keep on coming for the Monticello area.
Ground was broken on Wednesday on a state-of-the-art facility that will produce a new engineered wood product for Weyerhaeuser, which is investing $500 million in the project. The new plant will be on par with one in Canada that produces some 10 million cubic feet a year.
“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.”
Weyerhaeuser expects the investment will produce some $100 million a year in earnings and add nearly 200 jobs in the area. That is a more than 25% growth in employment from the 719 the company now has in Arkansas.
These things don’t just happen by chance. Companies have to believe that what they are investing in will be a good fit for an area in any number of ways. And that is the case for what Weyerhaeuser is embarking on, given that the company looked at 20 other sites before selecting the Monticello area.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
“One of the great things about building this type of facility in south Arkansas is that the people here have a long history of supporting the forest products industry,” Chaney said. “While we’re still a ways off from hiring most jobs, we’re confident the local workforce has the right mix of skills and experience to build a strong team. That’s one of the big reasons we chose this site, and of course we will also provide comprehensive training to make sure everyone is prepared to run our operations safely and effectively, regardless of previous experience.”
Chaney said it didn’t hurt that the University of Arkansas at Monticello, which is home to the state’s only school of forestry, was nearby.
That university was also in the spotlight in recent months when ground was broken on a new $16.8 million Arkansas Forest Health Research Center, which will allow UAM to use state-of-the-art technology to create a top-level facility to study insects, genetics, disease and the impact the changing environment has on forests. The benefit of that facility has been estimated to be almost $160 million annually in terms of improved landowner revenue and improved timber quality.
No wonder that Weyerhaeuser wanted to be in close proximity to such a facility. When a company sees strong public sector investments in an area – in this case that area is a place as well as a specific sector – it speaks volumes in the way of encouraging private dollar investments. And the confluence of the two creates a multiplying effect in the way of encouraging additional jobs and related industries. No surprise — that is exactly what’s happening in Monticello.