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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

Joint Venture LignoTech Florida Plans Manufacturing Center In Fernandina Beach, Florida

12/09/2016
Borregaard ASA (BRG) and Rayonier Advanced Materials Inc. (RYAM) will locate their new venture, LignoTech Florida, in Fernandina Beach, Florida. The new manufacturing facility will be housed at RYAM’s Fernandina Beach site and will create 50 jobs in Nassau County.

Rayonier Advanced Materials is the leading global supplier of high-purity, cellulose specialties natural polymers for the chemical industry. Borregaard operates the world’s most advanced biorefinery. By using natural, sustainable raw materials, the company produces advanced and environmentally friendly biochemicals, biomaterials and bioethanol that replace oil-based products.

The new operation will provide environmentally friendly alternatives to oil-based products used in construction, agriculture and other industrial applications. Construction for the project is expected to begin shortly with operations beginning approximately 18 months after the commencement of construction.

Paul Boynton, the Chairman, President & CEO of Rayonier Advanced Materials, said, “We’re excited to move forward with this new business to produce environmentally friendly alternatives to many fossil-fuel based products. Our partnership with Borregaard will create over 50 high-paying jobs and contribute more than $28 million annually to Northeast Florida’s economy. LignoTech Florida creates value for the stockholders of Borregaard and Rayonier Advanced Materials and is great for our community and Fernandina plant.”

Per A. Sørlie, President & CEO of Borregaard, said, “This project creates significant new growth opportunities for our lignin business. Our partnership pairs Borregaard’s expertise in manufacturing, marketing and product development of lignin-based products with RYAM’s co-product generation and highly-competitive site location. We appreciate the strong local support this project has already received. Officials at the city, county and state levels have been excellent partners. We look forward to working with them in the future.”

Partners in the expansion include Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, Nassau County Economic Development Board and Enterprise Florida.

Governor Rick Scott said, “Borregaard ASA and Rayonier Advanced Materials Inc. are global companies that could have selected any other state to invest in, but they ultimately chose Florida thanks to our hard work to cut taxes and build a business-friendly environment.”

Cissy Proctor, Executive Director of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, said, “Florida’s strong manufacturing sector leads the nation in job gains, and the 50 new high-skill, high-wage jobs that LignoTech will bring to Nassau County will help us continue to set the bar for manufacturing growth.”

Laura DiBella, Executive Director of the Nassau County Economic Development Board, said, “I cannot express enough how incredible this expansion is to the City of Fernandina Beach, Nassau County and the Northeast Florida region as a whole. It is such a uniquely positive project where its implementation will not only enhance operations at the current Rayonier Advanced Materials facility, it will also reduce the carbon footprint in numerous applications by replacing petroleum based products. All this while creating high wage manufacturing jobs with a tremendous economic impact in what is currently a designated rural county in Florida. This is economic development at its finest and I am so thrilled and proud to welcome LignoTech Florida to Nassau County!”

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