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SmartLam North America CEO Derek Ratchford and Peak Renewables CEO Scott Bax (from left) share a moment after receiving state seals from Wiregrass officials following an announcement at the Dothan Opera House that the two companies are investing $92 million to build the largest glulam manufacturing operation in North America and a new wood pellet production facility.
Local officials look over glulam products after an announcement that SmartLam North America and Peak Renewables are investing $92 million to build the largest glulam manufacturing operation in North America and a new wood pellet production facility.
WATCH: To see a video of the economic announcement, point your smartphone camera at the QR code, then click the link.
Economic development projects involving an engineered wood products company and a Canadian wood pellet manufacturer will lead to a combined $92 million investment and 70 new jobs in Houston County as well as the potential for a significant impact on the forest product sectors in Alabama and the Southeast.
SmartLam North America’s Dothan Division plans to construct a new state-of-the-art production facility on Hodgesville Road in order to manufacture large glulam beams and columns – a $62 million investment.
Meanwhile, Canadian-based Peak Renewables will construct a new wood pellet production facility on 30 acres behind the SmartLam facility, utilizing sawmill residuals to produce the wood pellets it markets for renewable power generation.
“The mass timber industry is in its infancy,” Derek Ratchford, SmartLam’s chief executive officer, said during a Friday announcement at the Dothan Opera House. “It has just started. It is going through accelerated tremendous growth; therefore, that’s why we’re here today to announce what we’re doing.”
Glulam, or glued laminated timber, engineered wood products are used for large high-strength beams, headers and columns. SmartLam’s new automated glulam facility will allow the company to increase production and purchase additional high-strength fiber from private landowners throughout central and southern Alabama.
State, county, city and chamber officials came together for Friday’s announcement, which comes just a few days after another company, Gateway Tire Southeast, announced a $9-million expansion and the creation of 30 new jobs for the Dothan market. Regional collaboration and teamwork were constant themes as different leaders spoke at the podium on the Opera House stage.
“If we as the Wiregrass, if we as Southeast Alabama want to continue to make noise in this part of the world, it takes all of us working together,” Dothan Mayor Mark Saliba said.
The new Dothan facility will make SmartLam the largest mass timber producer in North America, Ratchford said. The new facility, expected to be fully operational in October 2024, will have the capacity to produce 84 million board feet annually when it reaches full production.
Ratchford said SmartLam would not be able to take this step without support from local sawmills like Rex Lumber, which has sites in Graceville and Troy, where SmartLam buys 85% of its lumber.
When it’s all said and done, Ratchford said the Dothan facility will be the company’s “flagship” facility.
“In the next two to three years, that facility and that whole complex is just going to be a bright shining spot for the community, and this is going to be excellent for our employees,” Ratchford said. “One of the things in my role that I relish the most is being able to take a smaller outfit, grow it and turn it into an industry leader – not from a personal perspective. For me, it’s the interaction with the people, the ability to change the lives of our employees locally and the community.”
In 2019, SmartLam North America acquired International Beams, a Florida wood products company that had operated a Dothan facility in the former General Electric building on Hodgesville Road since 2017.
The SmartLam North America facility in Dothan was the first to offer cross-laminated timber (CLT) products manufactured from Southern yellow pine. Designed to be lightweight and strong, CLT products are used in construction for structural floor, roof, and wall systems.
SmartLam’s Dothan facility is already 225,000 square feet, and the glulam facility will add another 140,000 square feet to its Dothan operations. SmartLam North America also has a production facility in Columbia Falls, Montana.
Along with the new glulam facility, SmartLam plans to fully automate its CLT production, allowing the company to produce 2 million cubic feet of CLT annually.
For its part, Peak Renewables Chief Executive Officer Scott Bax said the company’s $30 million investment will further strengthen and diversify the forestry industry in the Southeast United States.
The company operates sawmills, a finger joint stud plant, and a wood pellet plant in British Columbia as well as an OSB plant in Saskatchewan in Canada.
Peak Renewables markets wood pellets as a substitute for coal. The pellets are made from residual wood pieces with no other economical use. Its pulverizing and heating process binds the pellets together so no additional chemicals are used.
The bioenergy products help create commercial green power, Bax said, and can help move the world away from coal for a more sustainable future. Plus, it allows for reinvestment in sawmills and will have a ripple effect down the economic line in the community.
“We utilize residuals from that amazing resource known as Southern pine, and this facility fundamentally strengthens the forest sector, providing that sustainability and growth that’s needed, not for years, but for generations to come,” Bax said.
Using residual wood fiber from Rex Lumber sawmills, Peak will ultimately be able to produce 180,000 metric tons of wood pellets each year at the Dothan facility. Construction on the wood pellet facility will be completed by mid-2023.
Bax said the energy to grow Dothan is evident.
“You can feel the energy and the enthusiasm here in Dothan,” Bax said. “You can feel it in the room, you can feel it in the city, feel it in the county. People are working together, and to accomplish great things fundamentally, you need teams. You need teams working together, partnerships happening, and putting egos aside for the benefit of the community.”
Peggy Ussery is a Dothan Eagle staff writer and can be reached at aussery@dothaneagle.com or 334-712-7963. Support her work and that of other Eagle journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at dothaneagle.com.
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SmartLam North America CEO Derek Ratchford and Peak Renewables CEO Scott Bax (from left) share a moment after receiving state seals from Wiregrass officials following an announcement at the Dothan Opera House that the two companies are investing $92 million to build the largest glulam manufacturing operation in North America and a new wood pellet production facility.
Local officials look over glulam products after an announcement that SmartLam North America and Peak Renewables are investing $92 million to build the largest glulam manufacturing operation in North America and a new wood pellet production facility.
WATCH: To see a video of the economic announcement, point your smartphone camera at the QR code, then click the link.
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