MONTICELLO – Weyerhaeuser Company, one of the world’s largest private owners of timberlands, broke ground last Wednesday on its new TimberStrand® facility near Monticello and Warren. The company is investing an estimated $500 million in the facility, which is expected to create 200 high-quality jobs in the region once fully operational.Company executives joined state and local officials for a groundbreaking ceremony at the project site last Wednesday, June 18. During the ceremony, officials highlighted the importance of the forest products industry to the state and the positive economic impact the facility will have on south Arkansas.“We primarily do business in small rural locations all across the U.S. and that dynamic that we have with those local communities is one of the reasons why we’re still in business. Frankly, it's one of the things that makes this company special, and that couldn't be more true with our operations here in Arkansas,” said Devin W. Stockfish, Weyerhaeuser president and chief executive officer.“We’ve been in Arkansas since the mid 1950s. This is a great, great place to do business at the state level. At the local level, weve really just had wonderful engagement across the board all the way from the Governor's Office, the local community, state legislature, federal. Everyone has really bent over backwards to help us get this facility here,” Stockfish said.“And I can tell you the reason we’re sitting here today in Monticello, Arkansas, and not somewhere else is because of that support and that engagement that we’ve had from our friends in the legislature, the economic development team, the Governor’s Office,” he added. “They’ve all made us feel very welcome. And so we just couldn’t be more excited.”The facility will produce TimberStrand®, a laminated strand lumber that is engineered for consistent strength and straightness and used in a range of building appl...
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