SEATTLE (News release) -- Weyerhaeuser Company announced its plan to invest approximately $500 million to build a new, state-of-the-art TimberStrand® facility near Monticello and Warren, Arkansas, expanding the company's engineered wood products (EWP) capacity in the U.S. South. The facility will have an annual production capacity of approximately 10 million cubic feet, which is comparable to the company's existing TimberStrand® facility in Kenora, Ontario. Construction is expected to begin in 2025, with the goal of starting operations in 2027.
The new facility will support an underserved and growing market for TimberStrand® in the U.S. South and showcase Weyerhaeuser's innovation in Wood Products. Leveraging its proprietary TimberStrand® technology, the company is combining institutional expertise from Kenora with extensive research and development to manufacture TimberStrand® with southern yellow pine as the primary feedstock. Given the company's sizeable timber holdings in Arkansas, the Monticello facility is strategically located to source most of its fiber log requirements from Weyerhaeuser timberlands in the region. Additionally, the plant will include a biomass-fueled cogeneration system, which will fully supply the plant's electrical needs and significantly reduce its environmental footprint.
Key attributes of the new facility:
- Doubles Weyerhaeuser's North American TimberStrand® capacity and enhances the company's EWP offerings in the U.S. South
- Delivers seamless integration with existing Weyerhaeuser timberlands and wood products distribution network, as well as with readily available freight and rail transportation in the region
- Expected to generate over $100 million of annual Adjusted EBITDA at full operating capacity, with additional upside from portfolio integration benefits
- Serves the company's strong and expanding customer base in the region, along with increasing demand for TimberStrand® in housing and industrial applications
- Enhances the company's product offering to the mass timber market as it continues to grow and mature
- Aligns with the company's long-term sustainability and greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals
- Expected to add nearly 200 high-quality jobs in Monticello and the surrounding area once fully operational
- Expands the company's total investment and impact in Arkansas, adding a third manufacturing facility to go along with a lumber mill in Dierks and a plywood and veneer plant in Emerson, as well as 1.2 million acres of timberlands, a seedling nursery and several offices -- currently employing more than 700 people across the state
"This is an exciting opportunity to grow our EWP business, expand TimberStrand® into the U.S. South and provide an additional outlet for our fiber logs in Arkansas," said Devin W. Stockfish, president and chief executive officer. "Of the wood products we produce, EWP has the strongest tie to single-family housing construction activity, and this new facility aligns with our conviction that U.S. housing demand will remain favorable over the long term. In addition, this plant will allow Weyerhaeuser to better serve other customers and end markets in the region, including mass timber applications, and it supports our broader sustainability ambitions. I'd like to thank the state of Arkansas and local officials for working with Weyerhaeuser to site this facility. We look forward to building on our long history in the state and providing new employment opportunities in Monticello and surrounding communities."
The company expects to incur approximately $500 million of capital expenditures for the facility through 2027 and plans to exclude this investment for purposes of calculating the company's annual Adjusted Funds Available for Distribution, as used in its flexible cash return framework. This capital outlay may be sourced from cash on hand or through future financing, as the company deems appropriate.
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