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One year after announcing a $700 million investment in its manufacturing operations in Southern Oregon, Roseburg Forest Products reports that construction at two new plants in Dillard, Or., is well underway.
Dillard Components will be the first of the new plants to come online, with startup expected in late summer 2024. The plant will convert specialty medium density fiberboard (MDF) panels manufactured at Roseburg’s MDF plant in Medford, Or., into Armorite Trim, a finished exterior trim product for residential and shed use. This is an innovative new product that Roseburg recently introduced to the market.
Dillard MDF will use wood residuals from Roseburg’s local mills and other regional suppliers to manufacture standard MDF panels, as well as thin high density fiberboard (HDF), often used in cabinetry, doors, and other applications. The plant will produce panels with a thickness range from 2 mm to 28 mm.
Once fully operational, the two new plants will employ approximately 120 people in the community where Roseburg was founded nearly 90 years ago.
“As equipment orders arrive and construction progresses, it’s exciting to see our plans for these investments take shape and become reality,” said Tony Ramm, senior VP of manufacturing. “Roseburg was first established in this area in 1936, so investing in these projects at home is especially meaningful to the company. We look forward to seeing how they contribute to the future of the company and our team members, and the economic health of Southern Oregon.”
The two plants together will be capable of producing the following:
• MDF panels: 175 million sq. ft. per year on a 3/4” basis, or 310,000 cubic meters per year
• Primed Armorite exterior trim: 70 million sq. ft. per year on a 3/4” basis, or 124,000 cubic meters per year
Interior molding: 90 million ft. per year
MDF is an engineered wood product made from softwood residuals combined with wax and resin and formed into panels. It is denser than plywood, and stronger and denser than particleboard. HDF is a thinner, denser version of MDF. Roseburg currently owns and operates three MDF plants in North America.
The two new Dillard plants represent a significant portion of Roseburg’s $700 million investment in its Oregon manufacturing assets. The investment also includes improvements at existing Roseburg plants in Oregon, such as significant upgrades at our plywood plant in Riddle, Or., including two new lathe lines and a new hardwood plywood line, and a new dryer at our plywood plant in Coquille, Or.
Founded in 1936, Roseburg Forest Products, based in Springfield, Or., is a privately-owned company and one of North America’s leading producers of medium density fiberboard, softwood and hardwood plywood, lumber, LVL and I-joists. The company owns and sustainably manages more than 600,000 acres of timberland in Oregon, North Carolina and Virginia, as well as an export wood chip terminal facility in Coos Bay, Or. Roseburg products are shipped throughout North America and the Pacific Rim.
