Interfor Corporation announces that it will invest $ 8 million to revive the idle Georgia Pacific sawmill near DeQuincy. The governor’s office says the project will create 170 new jobs. Southwest Louisiana Economic Development Alliance CEO George Swift said the plant was closed last May due to the pandemic.
“A lot of people used to work at the Georgia Pacific plant so they can get back into the workforce, so it’s a big boost for DeQuincy and for Southwest Louisiana in particular,†Swift said. .
Interfor plans to restart operations in the first half of 2022. Swift says Interfor is based in Canada and is one of the largest lumber producers in North America.
“Obviously Louisiana has a lot of lumber industry so they researched locations and identified the DeQuincy plant as a plant that might be available to reopen and that’s what they’re going to do,” said Swift.
The mill near DeQuincy has an annual lumber production capacity of 200 million board feet. Swift says the revived plant will support significant logging and logistics activity in the region.
“Construction is booming everywhere, so there is a need for lumber products, which is why you see an investment in this industry,†said
