ST. PAUL, Va. (WJHL) — A company will create 73 new jobs when it establishes a new wood products manufacturing facility in St. Paul, Gov. Ralph Northam’s office announced Friday.
Rambler Wood Products will invest $7.6 million to convert the former Bush Furniture Industries building into a new facility of nearly 300,000 square feet in size.
According to the governor’s office, the new facility will make Rambler the first business of its kind to operate entirely indoors, allowing for year-round production.
Rambler will convert high-quality white oak into barrel staves for the West Virginia Barrel Company and other cooperages in the region. The facility will also use Red Oak and other lower-value hardwoods to produce lumber for flooring manufacturers, pallet production, and the mining industry. The remaining wood chips and sawdust will be sold to paper manufacturers.
The company has committed to sourcing 55 percent of its timber from Virginia.
A $2.5 million loan from the Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority (VCEDA) was used to acquire the facility for the project.
VCEDA says the project has the potential to create more than 120 new manufacturing and research jobs overall as the company will also operate a research and development center to study renewable energy and coal/timber energy development.
