Maine’s Pleasant River Lumber Awarded Grant; Will Expand Two Sawmills

The Maine Technology Institute (MTI) recently awarded a $4,226,000 challenge grant from the Maine Technology Asset Fund 2.0 program to the Pleasant River Lumber Company. The $4.2 million will be used toward a $12 million expansion at Pleasant River Lumber’s mill on the Milo Road and a larger $20 million initiative between the Dover-Foxcroft location and the company’s Moose River Mill in Jackman.

Pleasant River Lumber Co-President Jason Brochu, who runs the locally owned operation and its five facilities across Maine with his brother Co-President Chris Brochu, said they applied to the Maine Technology Asset Fund 2.0 program and recently learned of the awarding of the approximate $4.2 million challenge grant.

MTI approved seven challenge grants totaling a combined $10.9 million in the final funding round. The program is financed by a $45 million bond approved by voters last June that MTI manages on behalf of the state.

“We ended up with $4,226,000 toward the $12 million project,” Jason Brochu said, saying the company is working on a larger $20 million expansion between Dover-Foxcroft and Jackman. He said financing is in place for the rest of the project.

“That was a very competitive process and it was wide ranging,” Brochu said as 18 projects across Maine received grants. “We put together a real good project for the state of Maine. I think we were chosen because it is shovel-ready and has infrastructure that will be here for a very long time.”

From The Piscataquis Observer: observer-me.com.