Maine’s Katahdin Forest Products Mulls Sawmill Expansion
Katahdin Forest Products, the Oakfield-based maker of cedar log homes, is considering expanding its sawmill in Ashland at the same time that a lumber dispute between the U.S. and Canada leaves a cloud of uncertainty over the market.
Amid ongoing growth in sales of log homes and fences, Katahdin Forest Products is looking at the possibility of “a significant expansion” at its Ashland mill, according to David Gordon, the company’s president.
The potential expansion would rely on electricity purchased directly from the nearby ReEnergy biomass power plant at favorable rates and could roughly triple the mill’s employment, Gordon said.
Katahdin Forest Products, best known for its cedar log homes, purchased and restarted a softwood sawmill in Ashland in 2009 and has since invested about $200,000 and brought the number of workers to 11, Gordon said. The company has long had two sawmills in Oakfield, near major stands of cedar in southern Aroostook County, and decided to buy the Ashland mill close to cedar stands in the North Maine Woods, Gordon said.
The company’s cedar sawmill is now one of 11 forest product companies in greater Ashland, including Moosewood Millworks, EcoShel, Northeast Pellets, ReEnergy and the two large lumber mills, Maibec and JD Irving. If the potential expansion goes forward, employment at the Ashland mill could grow to 30 to 35 workers, Gordon said.
From the Bangor Daily News: bangordailynews.com.
Latest News
Drax Gets Satellite Pellet Plant Going
Drax Group is ramping up to full production at Leola—the first of three new satellite pellet plants it plans for Arkansas. Leola, in Grant County, is part of a $40 million investment by Drax in the state, creating approximately 30 new jobs across all the three sites planned for Arkansas as well as many more indirect jobs…
SFPA EXPO Plans Move To Nashville
The stage is set. 2023 will mark a new tour for the successful Forest Products Machinery & Equipment EXPO, bringing the show for the first time ever to Nashville, Tenn. and its Music City Center convention center located in the heart of downtown. The date is August 23-25, 2023…
Chunk Of Timberland Sold In U.S. South
Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board’s Tamarack Timberlands LLC, an investment vehicle owned by Ontario Teachers, has assumed ownership of 870,000 acres of timberland in the U.S. South from Resource Management Service (RMS). The large-scale timberland portfolio of high-quality loblolly pine is spread throughout the U.S. South and…
New Chinese Log Requirements
On December 20, 2021, the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China (GACC) released Decree 110. The Decree, entitled Quarantine Requirements on Pine Wood Imported from Countries with Occurrence of Pine Wood Nematodes is believed to generate more cost and probably new challenges to the U.S. export of logs and lumber to China…
Find Us On Social
Newsletter
The monthly Timber Processing Industry Newsletter reaches over 4,000 mill owners and supervisors.
Subscribe/Renew
Timber Processing is delivered 10 times per year to subscribers who represent sawmill ownership, management and supervisory personnel and corporate executives. Subscriptions are FREE to qualified individuals.
Advertise
Complete the online form so we can direct you to the appropriate Sales Representative.