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Roseburg Forest Products announces major investment in Southern Oregon

One of Roseburg Forest Product's manufacturing plants in Oregon.
Thomas Boyd/AHM Brands
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Roseburg Forest Products
One of Roseburg Forest Product's manufacturing plants in Oregon.

Oregon-based Roseburg Forest Products announced on Friday that it will invest $700 million to expand the company's manufacturing operations.

The wood products manufacturing company will create two new manufacturing plants south of Roseburg and will also update its existing plants in Riddle and Coquille. The company says the project is one of the largest private capital investments in the state’s history and the largest known investment in manufacturing in rural Oregon.

The two new plants will manufacture standard medium density fiberboard panels, thin high density fiberboard, exterior trim and interior molding.

Rebecca Taylor, Roseburg’s corporate communications director, said the investment will have a huge local economic impact.

"It's a significant benefit to these rural communities where we currently operate. So in addition to the 120 jobs that these two new plants will create, it'll also be a big stimulator for the local economy," she said.

The company expects the two new plants to begin operations in 2025. The total investment will be spread out over four years, including the updates to existing plants.

“Not only are we proud of our long history in this region, but our focus on advanced manufacturing and innovative technology makes us an excellent fit for the future of Oregon’s manufacturing sector as well,” Roseburg President and CEO Grady Mulbery said in a press release.

The company was founded just outside Roseburg in 1936. Taylor said investing in rural communities is important to the company.

"One of our primary commitments is to give back to those communities and help serve as a booster in rural communities and bring well-paying, family-wage jobs to these areas. So we were born in rural Oregon, and we continue to operate in rural communities. So it is part of our legacy and our future," she said.

Roseburg said this project will not diminish the company’s operations at its veneer mill in Weed, California. Last September, the nearly 4,000-acre Mill Fire began at or near this location. It destroyed over 100 structures and resulted in two deaths. According to Cal Fire, its cause is still under investigation.

Roseburg also says it has reached settlement agreements with most of the people who were affected by the disaster.

Jane Vaughan is a regional reporter for Jefferson Public Radio. Jane began her journalism career as a reporter for a community newspaper in Portland, Maine. She's been a producer at New Hampshire Public Radio and worked on WNYC's On The Media.