U.S. – Arauco announced that it has received all required official approvals to build its new particleboard plant located in Grayling, Michigan. 

Once constructed the plant will feature North America’s largest single continuous particleboard press and will be one of the most productive in the world. The 750,000 ft2 facility will have an annual capacity of 452 million sq. ft. (800, 000 m3) of particleboard, along with full lamination capabilities. The execution of this USD 400 million investment will begin during 2017 and is expected to initiate operation in late 2018.

The mill will also create employment during the construction phase for an average of 300 people (and a peak of 600 people), and an average of 250 people during the mill’s operation, in addition to benefits for the economic and community development of Crawford County.

The North American market accounts for a little over 25% of Arauco’s total sales and this initiative is an addition to the investments made by Arauco in North America in recent years –Moncure and Flakeboard- with nine production facilities distributed in the United States and Canada. In addition, the company announced that one of its key objectives is to improve logistics throughout its production chain and support the growth of its customers located in the mid-western region.

In recent years, Arauco has achieved sustained growth in terms of wood panel production, mainly due to the company’s expansion to Argentina and Brazil in past decades, the purchase of production facilities in the United States and Canada, and more recently in Europe and South Africa, all of which has positioned the company as the second global producer, with a production capacity of 10.3 million m3. The company’s Timber business sales in 2015 were USD 2,633 million, which accounts for 51% of Arauco’s consolidated sales.