$115M Project To Boost Timber Manufacturing In Rural Texas
RoyOMartin plans to increase its production capacity by 70% with a $115M expansion of its manufacturing campus in rural Polk County, about 100 miles north of Houston.
The wood products manufacturer makes oriented strand board, an alternative to plywood for specialty flooring and housing-related products, at a 407K SF plant on a 150-acre campus in Corrigan, Texas. Another 370K SF specialty facility is under construction at the campus, according to National New Markets Fund, an affiliate of Los Angeles-based SDS Capital Group.
NNMF invested $28.5M of its new markets tax credit allocation authority to support the expansion, which is expected to help retain 200 full-time jobs and create 123 new full-time positions. RoyOMartin is a critical employer in Polk County, which the NNMF press release calls a “deeply distressed rural community.”
“RoyOMartin has long been a cornerstone of the Corrigan community,” Corrigan Mayor Johnna Lowe Gibson said in a statement. “We’re deeply grateful to the New Markets Tax Credit program and NNMF for making this expansion possible, bringing new jobs, renewed energy, and continued opportunity to our city.”
Founded in 1923, RoyOMartin manages 550,000 acres of certified timberland and is committed to sustainable forestry, the release says.
The new markets tax credit program was created in 2000 to advance economic development in economically distressed communities by providing tax credit allocations to groups such as NNMF that sell the credits to institutional investors and use the proceeds for projects.
“NNMF's investment of New Markets Tax Credits from the U.S. Treasury Department is central to this manufacturing expansion,” Chief Investment Officer Roy O. Martin III said in a statement. “This is exactly the kind of public-private partnership that makes large-scale growth possible in places that need it most — ensuring that rural Texas communities share in that prosperity.”
The manufacturing expansion comes as manufacturers such as Apple have shown heightened interest in the Houston area.
