Roseburg Forest Products Announces $700 Million Investment to Expand and Upgrade Its Operations in Oregon

Roseburg Forest Products announced on Friday (4-14-23) that it plans to invest $700 million over the next four years to upgrade and expand its manufacturing operations in Southern Oregon. The total project represents the largest ever known investment in rural Oregon, and one of the largest private capital investments of any kind in the state. The investment includes the creation of two new, state-of-the-art manufacturing plants and technology improvements and upgrades at existing facilities in rural Douglas and Coos counties.

In June 2022, Roseburg revealed that it was exploring the feasibility of locating an additional MDF plant or other residual based operations within its Western operating footprint. That study—combined with a years-long strategic assessment of company operations across the state—resulted in the decision to make this investment in Southern Oregon, where the company was founded in 1936.

According to the press release, Roseburg will be investing approximately $450 million in Dillard MDF, which will use wood residuals from Roseburg’s local mills as well as other regional mill suppliers to manufacture standard medium density fiberboard (MDF) panels, as well as thin high-density fiberboard (HDF), often used in cabinetry, doors, and other applications. When completed in 2025, it will be “one of the most technologically advanced plants of its kind in the world.”

Another $50 million will be invested at the Dillard Components facility, which will convert specialty MDF panels manufactured at Roseburg’s MDF plant in Medford, Oregon, into Armorite™ Trim, a finished exterior trim product for residential and shed use.

The remaining $200 million will go towards improvements at existing Roseburg plants in Oregon over the next four years. The company says this will include significant upgrades at its plywood plant in Riddle, Oregon—including two new lathe lines and a new hardwood plywood line—as well as a new drier at its Coquille, Oregon, facility.