Kati Anderson
Louisiana Pacific has purchased a shuttered board making plant near Cook, Minn. and plans to turn it into a siding mill.
The company announced Friday it bought the former Ainsworth OSB Mill along Highway 53 near Cook.
Louisiana Pacific will conduct a detailed evaluation of the site to determine how much it will cost to turn the mill into a fully operational siding mill.
“We have seen tremendous growth in our siding business and anticipate this growth to continue as we look to meet increasing demand. The aim of these transactions is to provide additional siding capacity by the end of 2018,” said LP Chief Executive Officer, Curt Stevens in a news release on Friday.
Those who live in the small town of Cook say this mill will be great boost for the local economy.
"It would be great for our logging industry which has been decimated in the last few years, and great for our local economy to have some decent paying jobs," said Mike Suomela, Owner of Furniture Plus Gift & Video.
Suomela along with his wife have owned Furniture Plus Gift & Video for almost 40 years. The store has been around for 70 years.
Suomela also said Louisiana Pacific's plans would also positively impact his business.
"The better the community is doing, the better we do. We've lost a lot of young folks because there are no jobs here. Some of them were able to get jobs in the mining companies; that has its highs and lows also, but having something that creates 100-200 jobs and gives a boost to our logging industry would be just wonderful," said Suomela.
"Louisiana Pacific's new manufacturing plant will continue the long tradition of Minnesota's robust forest products industry by providing new jobs and markets for Minnesota timber," said US Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota) in a statement on Friday.
The plant is anticipated to create about 200 jobs for the area.