USA - Roseburg Forest Products announced that it planned to invest USD 700 million over the next four years to upgrade and expand its manufacturing operations in Southern Oregon, where the company was founded nearly 90 years ago.

The investment includes the creation of two new, state-of-the-art manufacturing plants, and technological improvements and upgrades at existing plants in rural Douglas and Coos counties.

The total project represents the largest ever known investment in manufacturing in rural Oregon, and one of the largest private capital investments of any kind in the state’s history.

“Across the business, Roseburg is embracing advanced manufacturing and leveraging new technology and methods to make our current products and develop new ones, with the goal of ensuring we remain competitive in the global market,” Roseburg President and CEO Grady Mulbery said.

The investment includes two new highly technical manufacturing plants at the company’s Dillard Complex, located just south of Roseburg, Oregon.

Dillard MDF will use wood residuals from Roseburg’s local mills as well as other regional mill suppliers to manufacture standard medium density fiberboard (MDF) panels, as well as thin high density fiberboard (HDF), often used in cabinetry, doors, and other applications. The plant will produce panels with a thickness range from 2 mm to 28 mm.

“HDF is a new product for Roseburg that meets growing customer demand for domestically manufactured panels of increasing thinness and strength,” Mulbery said. “Dillard MDF will be one of the most technologically advanced plants of its kind in the world, and it alone represents USD 450 million of our USD 700 million investment.”

The new MDF plant will have an anual capacity of 310,000 cubic meters.