Canfor’s presence in the southern US started in 2006 and has since grown to include 14 manufacturing facilities. One of these is located in Urbana, AR, and is where significant investments will lead to increased production and more jobs.
A dry continuous kiln at the Urbana mill. A third kiln will translate into approximately 36 new jobs.
Canfor is investing $8.8 million in upgrades at the Urbana mill, which include the installation of a third continuous dry kiln. Increasing the mill’s drying capacity also increases lumber production substantially. This will result in the need to add a second shift, planned for early 2018. The investment’s impact translates into approximately 36 new jobs at the mill, an increased demand on harvesting operations and overall good news for the economy of the surrounding community.
Other recent company investments in our US operations include installation of new kiln in three of its South Carolina locations – Camden, Conway and Darlington. As a result, each of these operations also had a second shift added.
The Urbana sawmill is in an area with abundant and high quality fiber supply, and produces premium southern pine lumber. It currently has a workforce of nearly 140, and an operational capacity of 145 million board feet (mmbf) per year, which will increase by 45 mmbf.
As a result of our investments in Urbana, we encourage any job seekers in the area to keep connected to our Urbana job openings here.