One year after officially breaking ground on our new TimberStrand® manufacturing facility near Monticello, Arkansas, the sights and sounds of progress are everywhere.
At the construction site, just south of Highway 278 between Monticello and Warren, about 150 workers have spent the past several months preparing the land and laying the foundations for the buildings that will soon rise skyward. From the air, you can see the footprint emerging from the surrounding forests — the graveled finish area, the large stormwater retention ponds and the paved roads tracing the project’s eastern and southern boundaries.
Inside the perimeter, thousands of yards of concrete have been poured into foundations for critical infrastructure, including the dryer slab, forming line and press pit. Underground utilities have been laid, and parts and equipment arrive almost daily in preparation for the project’s next phase.
In the coming weeks, workers will begin erecting structural steel, installing equipment and framing the skeleton of what will be one of the most advanced engineered wood manufacturing facilities in North America, if not the world. And if all goes as planned, the facility will begin production in 2027.
“There are so many variables in a project like this one,” says Chad Allen, Monticello project manager and director of Capital and Engineering for EWP. “But we are still on track to have operations come online next year.”
GROUNDBREAKING NEWS
The announcement of Monticello in November 2024 as our first greenfield manufacturing facility in more than 20 years generated fresh excitement for Weyerhaeuser and the wood products industry across southeast Arkansas. More than 150 people, including state and local elected officials, economic development directors and regional media, attended the ceremonial groundbreaking on June 18, 2025, where members of our senior management team expanded on the significance of the project to both the company and the community.
“There’s a lot of work to do, but together, we’re going to do it,” said Brian Chaney, senior vice president of Wood Products, during his remarks at the groundbreaking. “I’m excited about it, and I know all of us are.”
One year later, the planned Monticello facility remains a key part of the company’s growth plan and a source of hope and pride for the local community. Not only is the facility expected to create nearly 200 high-quality jobs in the area and generate more than $100 million of annual Adjusted EBITDA for the company, it’s also expected to integrate seamlessly with our existing Timberlands and Wood Products operations in the region, using southern yellow pine as a primary input, and allowing us to better serve our customers across the South.
BUILDING OUR TEAM
While work is progressing at the construction site, the nerve center for growing the operations team is an office building on West Gaines Street, across from the historical downtown square in Monticello. A portion of the operations team will be joining members of the project construction management team at the plant site on a rotating basis.
Our first two employees for the facility — plant manager Glen Hansson and human resources business parter Crystal Newsom — moved in shortly after the groundbreaking. They were soon joined by their first external hire, safety manager Jason Hobbs.
Steady hiring over the past nine months has all but filled the local management team and increased the number of employees in the office to 16 — one short of capacity.
“We have assembled an exceptional leadership team, one that collaborates very well ,” says Glen, who managed our TimberStrand plant in Kenora, Ontario, before transferring to Monticello. “There are so many conversations going on between calls and meetings every day. The space is filling up, but it’s great for team building.”
Longer term, the plan is to have new hires on the operations and construction-support teams work from a pair of triple-wide trailers parked at the construction site. But many of those roles won’t be needed or filled for weeks or months. The hiring of most hourly production employees will be on an even longer timeline.
COMMUNITY SUPPORT
Meanwhile, the community continues to welcome Weyerhaeuser’s growing presence in the area. Glen credits elected leaders and members of the business community in both Monticello and Warren for their early and ongoing support of the project.
“They’ve just welcomed us with open arms,” Glen says. “Anywhere you go in the community, people will hand you their business card and say, ‘Hey, no matter what you need, give me a call.’ The support here has been outstanding.”
Glen and Chad both also credit the support of internal teams for keeping the project on track. Members of teams involved in design, procurement, raw materials, sales and marketing, finance, safety, environmental and information technology have all contributed.
Looking ahead, progress at the site is expected to become more visible this summer as equipment is installed and steel is raised. The number of on-site workers is also expected to steadily increase to approximately 400 by the end of the project.
“The community is excited,” Glen says, “and we’re excited to be a part of this community.”
