Wood facility announces $22.5M expansion
The Great Southern Wood Preserving lumber processing company in Mansura recently announced a $22.5 million expansion.
The Avoyelles Parish company, known for its YellaWood® brand pressure-treated pine, is expanding the selection of wood treatments for residential, industrial and marine use produced at the facility, according to the Louisiana Economic Development (LED) office.
The expansion will help retain 75 jobs and create 58 new direct jobs with an average annual salary of $42,200 plus benefits. LED projects the expansion will result in 144 indirect jobs for the Central Louisiana community. The state office also expects that at peak production, the project will result in 300 construction jobs.
“Great Southern Wood Preserving joins a growing list of lumber companies that have announced new or expanding operations that created more than 600 direct new jobs in Louisiana the past two years,” said Governor John Bel Edwards. “The timber industry is thriving in our state, and investments by existing Louisiana producers like Great Southern reinforce our agribusiness sector and contribute to the revitalization of our rural communities.”
The Mansura facility is on 35 acres and will expand to include a 187,500-square-foot warehouse to protect the lumber after it's treated and a 112,500-square-foot manufacturing facility, office building and truck maintenance shop.
“This expansion in Mansura is the culmination of the long-range plan we had in mind when we began operations there in late 2011,” said Jimmy Rane, Great Southern’s founder, president and CEO. “We’ve experienced continued growth through those years, and have reached the stage where investing in expanded product offerings will allow us to serve the broader Louisiana market with new products and additional manufacturing capabilities for residential, construction and industrial markets. We have a very strong leadership team and workforce in Mansura, and we’re poised to continue growing in Louisiana, which is a key growth area for us. We couldn’t be more excited about our expansion in Mansura, and we’re looking forward to getting underway.”
Construction on the expansion began in March and is expected to be completed by the end of 2023.
About Great Southern Wood Preserving Great Southern Wood Preserving, Incorporated, was founded in 1970 in Abbeville, Alabama. Today, Great Southern Wood and its subsidiaries employ 1,600 people who operate 37 distribution locations with a coverage area that covers all or parts of 28 states and the District of Columbia, as well as much of the Caribbean and Latin America, and part of the European Union, Mediterranean region and China. The company is best known to consumers as the maker of YellaWood® brand pressure treated pine. YellaWood® brand products are easily identifiable by a distinctive yellow tag and have long been recognized by consumers, professional builders, architects and specifiers for quality and dependability. Great Southern facilities service Do-It-Yourself retail home centers, pro dealers, and other retail building-related and industrial segments. The company has also diversified into logistics, distribution of alternative building products, remanufacturing operations, and sawmill operations. For more information, visit yellawood.com.
