Mill announces $39 million project

    EASTON, Maine – At last Wednesday’s celebration at Huber Engineered Woods LLC’s Easton facility, officials announced plans for a $39 million capital project, which will allow the manufacturer to redesign, upgrade and add equipment for operational efficiency.
    Though details of the capital project are still under wraps, Peter Francis, board chair and chief executive officer of J.M. Huber Corp., said the investment “really shows the importance for the company of having businesses be at the cutting edge of environmental technology.”
“Huber, for years, has felt that investing in environmental technology was important for the long-term,” said Francis. “We want to make this place better … not just for ourselves, but the world around us, and by making this investment in this facility, we help Aroostook County in making sure that it can retain jobs, and we think that’s very important.”
Andy Trott, president of Huber Engineered Woods, is excited about the investment.
“It is another example of Huber making a long-term investment in our business and in our people,” he said. “We’re doing it during one of the worst housing downturns in memory, but we’re spending almost $40 million on this plant. It’s some leading edge environmental technology that we’re putting in, and that’s pretty exciting.”
Gov. John E. Baldacci, who attended the ceremony in which Huber was recognized by the Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for achieving Merit status in its Voluntary Protection Program (VPP), said the plant’s investment is “a clear sign that you believe in your employees, you believe in Aroostook County, and you believe in Maine.”
“Thank you for the security of the jobs that are here, and for making additional investments,” said Baldacci. “We need to preserve these private-sector jobs in the state and this investment will help to do that.”
The governor noted that the Easton facility was originally built as a sugar beet processing plant in the 1960s.
“Huber’s been here since the early 1980s and it’s impressive enough that they converted a sugar beet processing plant into an engineered woods mill that is still operating today,” he said. “Huber’s operations are a great success story employing 130 hardworking Aroostook County Mainers with a payroll of nearly $10 million.
“The investment that we’re announcing here today will preserve those jobs well into the future and align this facility for future growth,” said Baldacci. “Quite impressive considering what it was used for a little more than 25 years ago.”
Huber Engineered Woods LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of J.M. Huber Corp., a diversified, multinational supplier of engineered materials, natural resources and technology-based services to markets ranging from paper and energy to construction.
The Easton facility, which employs 130, is focused on making AdvanTech® Flooring and Sheathing, as well as the new ZIP System® Wall Sheathing and ZIP System™ Roof Sheathing products from Huber Engineered Woods.