Forestry company to build Archdale plant

Pat Kimbrough, The High Point Enterprise, N.C.
·2 min read

Dec. 7—ARCHDALE — A wood products company will establish a manufacturing and distribution facility in Archdale that will create 129 jobs, the office of Gov. Roy Cooper announced Tuesday.

Sumitomo Forestry America plans to invest approximately $19.5 million in a new 120,000-square-foot building at 300 Roelee St. just south of Interstate 85 that will produce building materials used in residential and commercial projects, such as roof trusses, floor trusses and wall panels.

The facility will "help builders and developers with supply chain needs," said Atsushi Iwaskaki, president of Sumitomo Forestry America.

The business is a subsidiary of Sumitomo Forestry Co., a logging company founded in 1691 and based in Tokyo, Japan. Sumitomo Forestry America is headquartered in Addison, Texas, and is a comprehensive housing and wood products corporation that manufacturers, trades and sells timber, lumber, pulpwood, wood chips and building materials.

One of its subsidiaries, Charlotte-based Crescent Communities, will develop the Archdale facility, which is expected to start construction next month and finish by January 2024.

The Archdale Planning Board on Monday recommended approval of a high-density development permit for the building requested by Crescent Communities. The City Council will consider approving the request later this month.

All 129 of the new jobs are expected to be created by 2027, and will pay average annual wages of $45,782, according to the Randolph County Economic Development Corp.

The city of Archdale and Randolph County collectively offered up to $395,000 in local incentives to be paid over a four-year period to encourage Sumitomo Forestry to select the city site over two other potential locations in Maryland and Virginia.

The incentives package includes funds to extend Roelee Street to the 60-acre project site, with $165,000 to come from the county, $85,000 from the city, $200,000 from the N.C. Department of Transportation and $645,000 from the Golden Leaf Foundation.

In addition, the company has been approved for a state Job Development Investment Grant of up to $695,700 and a $200,000 grant from the N.C. Railroad Co. to assist with construction of a new rail spur to serve the property.