secure jobs
at plant
By NICOLE CARTRETTE
A water sprinkler system and unexpected building improvement requirements left a barrier between Idaho Timber Corporation and its Chadbourn location grand opening, planned last fall.
The company has been awarded a $166,260 grant from the Rural Center, giving it a boost at getting over that barrier, Sen. R.C. Soles Jr. and Rep. Dewey Hill announced Wednesday.
“This is economic development for the county,” Hill said.
Company officials were thinking of moving the plant after some of the problems they encountered, said Soles, who along with Hill helped push for the funding.
“This is about jobs for Columbus County,” Hill added.
The county Economic Development Commission applied for the grant on behalf of Idaho Timber, a lumber manufacturer that supplies wholesalers with dimensional lumber, boards for home centers, commodity lumber, and specializes in edge-glued panels, said Mike Jacobs of Idaho Timber.
“We are very appreciative, Jacobs said. “We have had glitches with inspections” but things are running smoothly now. The grant that will cover 80 percent of the fire-suppression sprinkler system, he said.
The plant will hire 25 employees initially and begin full production within the next six or seven weeks. Plans are to expand the Chadbourn facility workforce to 45 in the next year. Applications are accepted at the plant at 1844 Joe Brown Highway S., Chadbourn. Hiring will begin in mid-July.
The company needed a large facility with rail service nearby, attracting it to the 63,000-square-foot building on a 10-acre site in south Chadbourn.
“We like smaller rural communities,” Jacobs added. He mentioned the company gets “better help” and “better assistance” in communities like Chadbourn.
The Charleston, S.C., port is currently being utilized and the corporation plans to include the Wilmington, Savannah, Ga., and Baltimore, Md., ports in the future, Jacobs said.
Idaho Timber, headquartered in Boise, Idaho, provides wood products to markets across North America, the United States and Pacific Rim from more than 10 sawmills and manufacturing plants in nine different states throughout the U.S. The company reports “over 53 million board feet of lumber products shipped by rail and truck” monthly from its plants.