A new sawmill is coming to Clatskanie.

After years of planning, Clatskanie Scion LLC is moving forward with the construction of a sawmill. The mill will be ready to operate in about a year and a half, bringing at least 35 jobs to the area, Brian Myers, a partner in the business, said.

“It’s just a wonderful spot,” Myers said. “We hope to be good stewards there and good partners with the community.”

The facility will expand the operations of Myers Woodline Inc., a family-run business based in Sheridan.

“We’ve been together since the 1980s — my father, myself and my brother,” Myers said. “(We’ve) been doing it for a long time.”

Once it’s complete, the sawmill will manufacture industrial lumber products such as wooden separators used for shipping, crates and more.

“If a customer calls and wants a certain size, we will cut it for them,” Myers said. “It’s amazing how much lumber is sold that doesn’t go into homes or a box store.”

$30 million in federal financing
The sawmill is coming to fruition thanks to $30 million in financing from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In partnership with lender First Interstate Bank, the project is being funded through two of the USDA’s loan programs, one focused on timber and wood companies, particularly those that process forest fuels. The other is intended to help grow rural businesses.

“This fresh investment for Clatskanie is great news that will generate good-paying sawmill jobs throughout Oregon’s northwest corner and help in the ongoing battle to reduce wildfire risks throughout our state,” Sen. Ron Wyden said in a press release.

The support is a “shot in the arm” for the timber industry in Oregon, Jim Carmack, the Oregon director for USDA Rural Development, said.

“We have been losing timber mills right, left and sideways, and the industry is just under siege for so many different reasons,” Carmack said. “For a mill to start from scratch is just hugely important.”

It took a lot of hands to get this project to the finish line, and the company had help from Business Oregon, the Clatskanie People’s Utility District, former Oregon Sen. Betsy Johnson and more to make it happen, Myers said.
  
Source: columbiacountyspotlight.com