Sierra Pacific Industries is to invest up to US$100m building a sawmill near Seattle.
The company says the new mill is planned for Everett, 20 miles north of Seattle, and will employ about 200 workers.
The investment represents a trend reversal for the timber industry in the western US, as the number of mills has plummeted from 702 in the 12 western states in 1987 to just 242 in 2003.
Sierra Pacific said demand for wood products has grown throughout the country and a combination of fresh technology, a willing workforce and enough available timber meant it made sense to build the plant.
Sierra Pacific’s mill will be constructed on the site of an old mill which closed in the mid-1980s.
The facility, expected to open in 2007, will produce dimensional lumber for housing and commercial construction, as well as processing smaller, farmed trees which are commonly harvested in the region.
