Loggers in Southern Virginia and North Carolina are excited about the news released today about a new state-of-the-art sawmill to be built in Weldon, NC. Virginia loggers have said for a long time that more markets are needed in this area. Specifically most said we needed a new pine sawmill, but there were skeptics!

Roseburg Forest Products announced its plans to expand its operations in the southeastern United States with the construction of a high-capacity lumber mill in the town of Weldon, N.C.

North Carolina Roy Cooper just announced the new project at a joint news conference with officials representing Rosburg, the state of North Carolina, Halifax County, and the Town of Weldon.

“The new 375,000 square -foot facility will be called Roanoke Valley Lumber and will be located on approximately 200 acres of land in Halifax County. Construction on the state-of-the-art sawmill is expected to bein in the first quarter of 2022 and startup scheduled for later that year. Roanoke Valley Lumber will be one of the highest capacity sawmills on the east coast capable of producing as many as 400 million board feet of dimensional lumber per year.”

“Our business model of growing trees, converting them into high – quality wood products that improve people’s lives, the replanting to start the process over again is testament to our long-term commitment to our industry and the communities where we operate,” Senior Vice President of Operations Jake Elston said, “We are excited to build and operate a world – class facility, while growing our relationships and serving key clients on the Eastern Seaboard with expanded product offerings.”

Well we guess skeptics were wrong about a new sawmill! The company plans to invest $200 million to develop a sustainable high-tech sawmill operation. Once the sawmill is completed, Virginia loggers will have a new market for Virginia forest resources and forest landowners will be rewarded for their investment in sustainable forest management.

VLA CONGRATULATES ROSEBURG FOREST PRODUCTS AND THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA FOR INVESTING IN RENEWABLE, NATURAL FOREST RESOURCES TO HELP OUR COMMUNITIES AND ENVIRONMENT!