Federal Way, Wash.-based Weyerhaeuser (WY 0.11%) is bulking up to accommodate the housing boom.
On Friday, Weyerhaeuser announced plans to restart production at its factory in Evergreen, Ala., where the company produces Trus Joist TJI joists and Microllam LVL beams for housing construction.
These engineered lumber production lines have been closed for the past four years, owing to "previously weak wood products demand in North America," according to the company. The U.S. Census Bureau's most recent report on housing starts showed 6% growth in July and that year-to-date, housing starts are up 24% over 2012 levels.
Commenting in the company's press release, Weyerhaeuser engineered lumber products manufacturing manager Jan Marrs said: "Customer demand for engineered wood products has improved over the last year and our Evergreen facility is the ideal location to add production capacity of our Trus Joist TJI Joists and Microllam LVL building products."
Weyerhaeuser's Evergreen Trus Joist facility is capable of producing 2 million cubic feet of Microllam LVL and 120 million lineal feet of TJI Joists per year. Restarting these production lines is expected to add 100 jobs at the plant by the end of next year.
