LENOIR, NC (December 30, 2016)…Wood products manufacturer Woodgrain Millwork, Inc. announced it is building a $4-million pellet mill at its Lenoir manufacturing site along Complex Street that will create 15 new full-time jobs.
The 15,000-square-foot project, which is expected to be completed this spring, will manufacture and package wood fiber pellets to be used for animal bedding and fuel products. Woodgrain Millwork will sell its products to retail outlets and distribution centers.
“We are really excited to continue to grow on site,” Woodgrain Millwork Eastern Regional Manager Robb Hitch said. “From an environmental standpoint, this will allow us to use 100 percent of the (wood) fiber that is on site at all times.”
Based in Fruitland, Idaho, Woodgrain Millwork currently manufactures wood moulding products at its Lenoir facility and employs approximately 150 people. Founded in 1954, Woodgrain Millwork is the largest wood moulding products supplier to Home Depot.
“Woodgrain Millwork was the first large post-recession job creation project for the EDC,” Caldwell County Economic Development Commission Executive Director Deborah Murray said. “This is even better news that they continue to build and strengthen on a site that for so many years was the hub for industry in Lenoir.”
In August, Caldwell County approved a local jobs incentive of $2,000 per job for up to 30 new jobs to be created in Lenoir. Payments will be made only after the jobs have been created and maintained for one year. In addition, Woodgrain Millwork was approved for a five-year tax grant that is based on the increased property tax value from the new project.
Woodgrain Millwork formally located its manufacturing business in Lenoir in 2014 through an $8 million investment at the former Blue Ridge Panels site.
A Caldwell County Economic Development Commission Press Release (www.caldwelledc.org)