The company will move its current Fort William sawmill to the 67-acre site in an expansion programme which could create 45 new jobs and will safeguard a further 88 at the existing sawmill.
A further 100 jobs could be created within BSW’s supply and distribution chain.
The new mill will have more than twice the output of BSW’s current Fort William site and could become the UK’s largest sawmill.
The expansion is being backed with an aid package of £5.25m, made up of a £3m grant from Highlands and Islands Enterprise and £2.25m in Regional Selective Assistance from the Scottish Executive.
Chief executive Paul Barham said the Fort William operation had been an important part of the company’s UK production and distribution network since 1988 but had now outgrown the existing site.
He said: “We have developed a phased investment plan to ensure solid growth of the business.
“Ultra modern facilities will help drive our development of value-added and high quality timber products to continue to service our customer requirements and needs in a growing market.”
The first development phase will see investment in secondary processing facilities, including kilning, timber treatment, planing and grading. The second phase includes building the new sawmill – and on completion all production will transfer to the new site.
Mr Barham said the expansion plan was consistent with the log supply and co-product market and that the company is working closely with stakeholders such as the Forestry Commission to ensure log availability is suitable.
