Timber Company To Open At Millinocket Mill

LignaCLT Maine, LLC announced this week that they will be opening a Timber manufacturing site at the shuttered mill in Millinocket.

It's great news for the Katahdin region, which has struggled since losing mills in Millinocket and Lincoln. The company says it will become the first Maine-based manufacturing company of innovative Cross Laminated Timber, known as CLT, and other mass timber products in the state. CLT is an engineered wood product that competes with concrete and steel construction and is known for its environmentally friendly attributes.

Company officials said in a media release that the use of CLT in building projects around the globe has shown to reduce construction times by over 33 percent. In addition, the mill will be used to produce Glulam, which is a type of structurally engineered wood product for columns and beams that, similar to CLT, consists of layers of 'dimensioned' lumber bonded together with durable, moisture resistant adhesives.

Nick Holgersen, CEO and cofounding partner of the North Carolina-based company said in a media release that the decision to come to Maine was based the fact that the three types of trees that are important in the manufacturing process are plentiful in Maine, and company officials recognized that the state has "a dedicated, productive workforce with timber industry experience."

LignaCLT Maine, LLC has plans to convert the old mill into a state-of-the-art CLT and Glulam manufacturing operation coupled with prefabrication technology. The facility will comprise of up to 300,000 square feet on a 35-acre parcel and is slated to bring more than 100 direct jobs, within five years, to the Katahdin region, along with increased demand for Maine timber. In addition, even more jobs will be created in value chain operations. Company officials say the plant should be operational within a year.

The mill will be the anchor tenant at Millinocket's 'One Katahdin' industrial site.