Lumber company RoyOMartin announced Monday that it’s making a $25 million investment to modernize two of its Louisiana facilities.
The company’s Oakdale site, in Allen Parish, will receive a $23 million investment. The cash will go mostly toward installing new equipment, including two 35-ton cranes to replace 15-ton cranes. The modernization will decrease inefficiencies, lower fire hazards and enhance air quality, according to a news release.
At the Chopin facility, in Natchitoches Parish, the company will spend $2.2 million in plantwide upgrades, including new equipment.
RoyOMartin is receiving a $300,000 Modernization Tax Credit from the state for the investments. The company is also expected to apply for the Industrial Tax Exemption and Enterprise Zone programs.
The investment is the same that the company had announced in October, albeit now a few million dollars lower. The $30 million investment announcement from October was based off an estimated budget, says Emily Bruno, an internal auditor for the company. The change in monetary figures, she says, is due to the company finalizing its numbers.
“They were just a bit different than what we initially expected,” Bruno says.
The modernization comprises roughly two dozen smaller projects, Bruno says, adding that work has already begun at the Oakdale plant.
