In the KQEN Business Spotlight:
Roseburg Forest Products held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Monday to celebrate the grand opening of its newly constructed Chester, South Carolina engineered wood plant.
An RFP release said that South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster participated in the event along with Roseburg President and CEO Grady Mulbery and Roseburg owner and Chairman Allyn Ford.
The release said the plant is the most technologically advanced manufacturing facility of its kind and features the highest-capacity laminated veneer lumber press in the world. The project was first announced in summer of 2017 and the construction team broke ground later that year. When fully operational, the plant will employ at least 145 people from the area.
The release said the Chester plant will produced LVL headers and beams used in residential and commercial construction. Roseburg first established its engineered wood business in 2001 and currently manufactures a number of LVL products at is plant in Riddle.
Roseburg did extensive research prior to choosing a location for the new plant. Criteria included market demand, raw materials availability and cost, and business climate front and center. The release said Roseburg clients in the eastern U.S. will now have access to a stable supply of high quality LVL products.
Roseburg President and CEO Grady Mulberry said that South Carolina is a great state to do business in. He said “our research showed that this region was an ideal place to locate this facility, with its steady demand, healthy market, and bountiful wood supply”. Mulbery said Chester County and the state of South Carolina stood out, offering “outstanding support and assistance as we navigated through the process”.
Attendees included state and local politicians, regional officials and more than 100 recently hired plant employees. After the ribbon cutting, project leaders guided guests on a tour of the expansive manufacturing plant, which produced its first board on September 19th of this year.