Mainebiz

V O L . X X V I I N O. X V I I I G R E AT E R B A N G O R / N O R T H E R N M A I N E A s LP Houlton's 160 employees keep busy this summer turning hundreds of thousands of tons of Northern Maine trees into millions of square feet of engineered–wood prod- ucts, work was underway to expand the mill in response to increased demand for its flagship line, an exterior siding and trim called SmartSide. "LP has seen consistent year-over- year growth of SmartSide and needed to add more capacity," said Nathan Whitney, the plant's manager. "With our location here, next to a plentiful wood basket, it made perfect sense to convert our mill." e $150 million expansion and conversion, which broke ground in June, is driven by market growth in the home construction, repair and remodel markets. In turn, the investment "will ensure the mill continues providing hundreds of well-paying direct and indirect jobs across the region," said Paul Towle, president and CEO of Aroostook Partnership. Hopeful sign LP Houlton, which is actually in the neighboring town of New Limerick, belongs to Louisiana-Pacific Corp. (NYSE: LPX), a manufacturer of engineered wood building products headquartered in Nashville, Tenn. e mill is one of the largest employ- ers in Aroostook County. Over the past year, it expanded its workforce and oper- ating schedule as the home construction and remodeling market took off. ose expansions and the con- struction that's now underway are viewed as great news for Maine's for- est products industry, which in recent years has been hard hit by paper mill closures and the downsizing of the pulp and paper industry. Loggers and communities in northern Maine are looking to move forward after "the toughest year they have experienced in living memory," said Dana Doran, executive F O C U S Nathan Whitney, plant manager at LP Houlton, said the $150 expansion and conversion is driven by market growth in the home construction, repair and remodel markets. LP's willingness to invest in the future of Maine's forest economy and continue to provide a market for Maine wood is a hopeful sign for the logging industry. — Dana Doran Professional Logging Contractors of Maine P H O T O / F R E D J. F I E L D A U G U S T 2 3 , 2 0 2 1 12 Mill MILESTONE B y L a u r i e S c h r e i b e r Market growth drives LP Houlton mill expansion and benefits supply chain

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