USA – Roseburg Forest Products held an event to celebrate the grand opening of its newly constructed Chester, S.C., engineered wood plant. South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster participated in the event, along with Roseburg CEO Grady Mulbery and Roseburg owner Allyn Ford.

Located on Lancaster Highway, the plant is the most technologically advanced manufacturing facility of its kind and features the highest-capacity press in the world. The project was first announced in early 2017 and the construction team broke ground later that same year. When fully operational, the plant will employ approximately 145 people from the area.

Roseburg did extensive research prior to choosing a location for the new plant, with criteria including market demand, raw materials availability and cost, and business climate.

“South Carolina is a great state to do business in,” Roseburg President and CEO Grady Mulbery 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. 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 newly hired Roseburg employees. After the ribbon cutting, project leaders guided guests and a tour of the state-of-the-art manufacturing plant, that produced its first board on Sept. 19, 2019.

“What started out as an undeveloped plot of land is now home to a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility thanks to the efforts of a team of people with the vision and knowledge to make it happen,” Allyn Ford, Roseburg’s owner and board chairman, said. “Because of those efforts, 145 people will have jobs that did not exist before, and 145 families will earn a stable income in a safe work environment that contributes to the overall health and prosperity of this community and this state.”

The Chester facility will produce laminated veneer lumber (LVL) headers and beams used in residential and commercial construction.

Founded by Kenneth Ford in 1936, Roseburg began as a sawmill with salvaged equipment and twenty-five employees. Today, Roseburg Forest Products Company is the largest family-held wood products company in the United States.