Georgia-Pacific representatives along with local elected officials and many others gathered on Wednesday in Sabine County to celebrate and cut the ribbon after a major expansion to the Pineland facility. Georgia-Pacific is now touting the Pineland sawmill as the largest sawmill in the southern United States after the expansion and improvement project. Among those present were Pineland Plant Manager Ronnie Comeaux, President of the Lumber Division Fritz Mason, Rob Hughes of the Texas Forestry Association, Nancy Windham with the Texas Forest Country Economic Partnership, Sabine County Judge Daryl Melton, and many others. The mill, which has been in operation for over 100 years, has had $120 million invested by the company. The project was announced in September of 2021 and work began in early 2022. Improvements at the mill included the following:
~ Replaced the old 1960s stud mill
~ Replaced the old 1960s high-speed planer
~ Replaced the old 1960s continuous dry kiln
~ Expanded the log storage yard with a new debarking and processing line
~ Increased available log truck deliveries from 250 to 300 per day
~ Increased yearly board feet output of dimensional lumber from 380 million to 450 million