Hood Industries, Inc. and Mississippi officials have broken ground at the construction site of a new laminated plywood panel manufacturing facility in Beaumont.
The project is anticipated to be a $216 million corporate investment and will create 265 jobs in the southern portion of the state.
The company previously operated a plywood manufacturing facility in Beaumont for four decades before expanding operations to six wood manufacturing facilities across Mississippi, Louisiana, and Georgia.
On April 17, 2022, a tornado caused significant damage to the Beaumont plywood facility and the mill was deemed inoperable.
“The mill has been one of the cornerstones of our company because of the support received from the community of Beaumont, Perry County, and surrounding areas, and the hard work of our excellent employees,” Warren Hood, owner and CEO of Hood Companies, said. “We are excited to be able to rebuild the facility into one of the most modern plywood plants in North America.”
Now, Hood Industries has one plywood manufacturing plant, four lumber manufacturing plants, and 15 specialty wood products distribution operations across 14 states.
The new manufacturing facility will be able to operate at a rate twice the capacity of the previous one as well as at efficiency levels that support the long-term feasibility of the size of the project.
“After a devastating tornado shut this plant down, some would have left. But not this team, and not this company. Today’s groundbreaking is the launch of an incredible comeback story,” Governor Tate Reeves said during the groundbreaking ceremony. “This $200 million investment will bring 265 good-paying jobs to Beaumont and Perry County and have a tremendous impact on the local community. I congratulate Hood Industries on this exciting day and thank them for their enduring commitment to our state.”
Perry County and the town of Beaumont are assisting with local upgrades and have received assistance for these needs from Reeves and the Mississippi Development Authority.
AccelerateMS is providing a Mississippi Works grant to support the critical training needs of Hood Industries and will support the company’s long-term workforce goals and objectives for this project.
Construction of the new state-of-the-art plywood manufacturing facility will begin in the coming months and is set to become operational by early 2025.
