Weyerhauser to build $500 million facility in south Arkansas, add 200 jobs

Weyerhaeuser Company, one of the world’s largest private owners of timberlands, announced Monday (Nov. 18) plans for a $500 million investment to build a new, state-of-the-art timber processing facility near Monticello and Warren, Ark.

The investment is expected to create 200 high-paying jobs in south Arkansas.

“This is an exciting opportunity to grow our EWP [engineered wood products] business, expand TimberStrand® into the U.S. South and provide an additional outlet for our fiber logs in Arkansas,” said Weyerhauser President and CEO Devin W. Stockfish. “Of the wood products we produce, EWP has the strongest tie to single-family housing construction activity, and this new facility aligns with our conviction that U.S. housing demand will remain favorable over the long term. In addition, this plant will allow Weyerhaeuser to better serve other customers and end markets in the region, including mass timber applications, and it supports our broader sustainability ambitions. I’d like to thank the state of Arkansas and local officials for working with Weyerhaeuser to site this facility. We look forward to building on our long history in the state and providing new employment opportunities in the Monticello community.”

The new facility will expand Weyerhaeuser’s engineered wood products capacity, adding approximately 10 million cubic feet of annual production capacity. Using southern yellow pine as the primary feedstock, Weyerhaeuser will manufacture TimberStrand®, a laminated strand lumber, at the Arkansas facility and will use a biomass-fueled cogeneration system to fully supply the plant’s electrical needs.

“This $500 million investment and 200 new jobs are pivotal for towns like Monticello and Warren,” said Gov. Sarah Sanders. “I was at the University of Arkansas at Monticello last month to break ground on a new Forest Research Center my administration helped fund by directing $16 million to the school. Between Weyerhaeuser’s announcement and UAM’s expansion, we’re growing that portion of the state and investing in Arkansas’ forestry industry for generations to come.”

This is Weyerhaeuser’s third manufacturing facility in Arkansas, in addition to a lumber mill in Dierks and a plywood and veneer plant in Emerson, as well as a seedling nursery and multiple offices. Weyerhaeuser currently employs more than 700 individuals across Arkansas.

“Weyerhaeuser’s $500 million investment is an incredible milestone in Arkansas’s rural economic development momentum,” said Clint O’Neal, executive director of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission. “This project will be transformational for Southeast Arkansas, strengthening our state’s timber industry and creating 200 new jobs. We are grateful for Weyerhaeuser’s commitment to Arkansas, and we congratulate the local leadership for their hard work in securing this major economic development project.”

Weyerhaeuser plans to source most of its fiber log requirements from company-owned timberlands in the south Arkansas region. The company owns approximately 1.2 million acres of timberlands in the area.

Construction on the facility is expected to begin in 2025 with operations planned to start in late 2027.