OREGON (News release) -- Roseburg Forest Products announces that construction of two new plants in Dillard, Oregon, is well underway.

Dillard Components will be the first of the new plants to come online, with startup expected in late summer 2024. The plant will convert specialty medium density fiberboard (MDF) panels manufactured at Roseburg's MDF plant in Medford, Oregon, into Armorite Trim, a finished exterior trim product for residential and shed use. This is an innovative new product that Roseburg recently introduced to the market.

Dillard MDF will use wood residuals from Roseburg's local mills and other regional suppliers to manufacture standard MDF panels, as well as thin high density fiberboard (HDF), often used in cabinetry, doors, and other applications. The plant will produce panels with a thickness range from 2 mm to 28 mm.

Once fully operational, the two new plants will employ approximately 120 people in the community where Roseburg was founded nearly 90 years ago.

The two plants together will be capable of producing the following:

• MDF panels: 175 million square feet per year on a ¾-inch basis, or 310,000 cubic meters per year.
• Primed Armorite exterior trim: 70 million square feet per year on a ¾-inch basis, or 124,000 cubic meters per year.
• Interior molding: 90 million feet per year.

Roseburg currently owns and operates three MDF plants in North America. The two new Dillard plants represent a significant portion of Roseburg's $700 million investment in its Oregon manufacturing assets. The investment also includes improvements at existing Roseburg plants in Oregon, such as significant upgrades at its plywood plant in Riddle, Oregon, including two new lathe lines and a new hardwood plywood line, and a new dryer at its plywood plant in Coquille, Oregon.