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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

Great Southern Wood Preserving Expands Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana, Operations

12/27/2022
Great Southern Wood Preserving, the lumber processing company best known for its YellaWood brand pressure-treated pine, will expand its remanufacturing division in Mansura, Louisiana. The $5.9 million project is expected to create 25 jobs in Avoyelles Parish.

The investment will include the installation of four new production lines, increasing capacity and allowing for the manufacturing of components used in the oil field and for storm relief and mitigation, according to state officials. Production of supplemental decking components, including rails and balusters, will shift from out-of-state facilities to the Mansura plant. Conduction is scheduled for completion in October 2023.

“Our expansion in Mansura is phase two of the long-range plan we had in mind when we began operations here in late 2011,” said Great Southern’s founder, President and CEO Jimmy Rane. “With the growth of various manufacturing segments in Louisiana, our goal is to be able to support these industries by providing both a greater volume of products as well as more variety in the products they need to continue their growth. We’re looking forward to getting underway in early 2023.”

To secure the project the state of Louisiana offered Great Southern Wood a competitive incentives package including a performance-based retention and modernization tax credit of up to $200,000, and the services of LED FastStart, Louisiana’s nationally acclaimed recruitment, customized training and workforce development program. The company is a participant in the state’s Quality Jobs program and is expected to participate in the Industrial Tax Exemption program as well.

“Great Southern Wood Preserving’s reinvestment in its Mansura facility is a testament to the talent of our workforce, and illustrates the strength of Louisiana’s timber and manufacturing industries,” Governor John Bel Edwards noted. “We are committed to growing our economy in every corner of our state and revitalizing our rural areas. Companies like Great Southern lift up our rural communities by investing in local economies and providing quality jobs for the men and women of Louisiana.”

Established in 1970, Great Southern Wood Preserving, Incorporated, services D-I-Y retail home centers, pro dealers and other retail building-related segments. Based in Abbeville, Alabama the company is best known as the maker of YellaWood® brand pressure treated pine. In addition, Great Southern Wood Preserving provides dealers with a broad range of pressure treated lumber products and treatment options that serve all user segments from the homeowner, to farm and ranch needs, industrial and commercial applications, saltwater uses and more.

“Great Southern Wood continues to invest and expand in the Louisiana Central regional economy,” Louisiana Central President and CEO Jim Clinton added. “Its latest investment represents an expansion of the company’s workforce and physical plant in Mansura. We continue to be excited about Great Southern Wood’s future."

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