Canfor Southern Pines is building a new $210 million sawmill complex in the Axis community near Mobile.
The project will replace the company’s existing Mobile operations and allow the company to retain about 130 jobs.
The new sawmill should be ready by the third quarter of 2024.
Tony Sheffield, president of Canfor Southern Pine, said in a statement that the sawmill complex “will be built with next-generation, innovative technology and transform our workplace to offer employees a modern facility that will operate for generations to come.”
“This investment will allow us to continue our legacy of operations and long-term commitment to Mobile County, enhance our manufacturing ability to better align with the high-quality products our markets demand, and importantly, it’s an investment in our people,” Sheffield said.
According to the company, the new sawmill will produce 250 million board feet per year. It will also feature a biomass-fueled lumber drying system to help the company meet sustainability and decarbonization goals.
“This expansion reinforces Canfor’s commitment to the Mobile area, this community and their local workforce,” Mobile Chamber President and CEO Bradley Byrne said. “We’re grateful they’ve chosen to continue investing in our local economy.”
Canfor, based in British Columbia, is a forest products company, with additional operations in Canada, the Carolinas, Georgia, Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana, as well as Sweden. Canfor produces primarily softwood lumber.
Gov. Kay Ivey called the project a “strategic investment in the community, sawmill industry and economy of South Alabama.”
“As one of the most heavily forested states in the nation, Alabama has ample opportunity to attract significant new capital investment in the forest industry, and it’s apparent we’re doing just that,” Ivey said in a statement.