USA - Georgia-Pacific (GP) announced it is investing USD 70 million for upgrades to its plywood and lumber operations in Gurdon, Arkansas in the U.S. Work on the projects began earlier in summer 2019 and will be completed by 2020.

In addition to extending the ability to meet the growing needs of customers for lumber and plywood, this investment will increase the mill's efficiency and capacity, sustaining the more than 700 jobs at the two facilities.

“We are making state of the art improvements that will transform our Gurdon facilities, greatly improving the utilization of raw materials and overall operating efficiencies, making jobs more meaningful, and turning us into an even stronger competitor,” said Mike White, Western Regional Operations Manager.

GP's investment will have a ripple economic effect in the southern Arkansas region, generating USD 169 million in overall impact, according to Dr. Gauri Guha, Associate Professor of Economics at Arkansas State University.

“Any large investment in an economic sector is amplified by regional economic multipliers due to direct, indirect and induced effects of the expenditures,” Dr. Guha said. “This means a direct investment of USD 70 million ends up generating an economic value of USD169 million within the year.”