Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, Tupelo
State-of-the-art sawmill in New Albany expected to bridge manufacturing gap
By Dennis Seid
NEW ALBANY – After sitting empty for several years, the sprawling facility that was the spark and epicenter of upholstered manufacturing in Northeast Mississippi now brims with activity once again.
But it isn't furniture being made in what began as Morris Futorian's Stratford Furniture Co. plant in 1948. Instead, it's a state-of-the-art sawmill, the first by The Lumber Manufactory, a venture-backed operation that plans to build more than a dozen plants by 2030.
The premise is simple: Build sustainable mills closer to the source, where an over-supply of timber is bogging down the housing industry. And for TLM, that starts in New Albany.
More than $15 million has been poured into the operation, which includes both production and research and development. More than 50 jobs have been created already; about 35 are on the production team with the remaining in research, engineering and maintenance.
"Because of Futorian's big idea, the region's wood products ecosystem flourished for a long time. Landowners grew trees, foresters tended woods, loggers had steady work, and a network of suppliers grew up for crates, boxes, equipment, vehicles, and all the other good things that come from hardware manufacturing. That legacy continues," said Andrew Arsht, TLM co-founder and general counsel. "Many of our advisers, employees, and suppliers were involved in that Futorian ecosystem."
Arsht said TLM will generate prosperity for landowners, foresters, loggers, machine shops, homebuilders, truckers, and many others.
"Wood products is not dead,” Arsht said. “Together, we are breathing new life into this site, with a mind of its storied heritage and an eye toward an unlimited future"
TLM officials said the New Albany mill — and other mills it plans to build — will help with the country's manufacturing deficit. More than 4.5 million homes need to be built, and TLM plans to be in position to supply builders with what the need. The company chose New Albany to make use of the area's abundant pine saw timber to do that.
Michael Grasso, TLM's co-founder and CEO, said the industry can’t keep pace with the growth of timber planting with its current number of mills. He said the company's mission is to build critical infrastructure, modernize wood processing and promote sustainable forestry.
"Our country faces a very, very serious challenge right now, and at TLM, we believe that we can solve it," he said. "Right now, we've got a timber surplus in this country and a manufacturing deficit.
We are growing far more trees than we have the mills to convert into all those sticks to make all of those homes. We don't have it. We just don't have it.”
Grasso said the industry has enough workers and more than enough trees, but it doesn't have enough mills.
TLM plans to solve that problem.
"We're not just building mills; we're building a company that can design, build and deploy these factories at a speed that has never been seen in this industry,” Grasso said. “We have to deploy mills fast. We have to be able to process logs big and small. And I don't mean this hyperbolically — we need hundreds of mills, and we're going to do it. New innovation will take us part of the way there, but excellent public policy will make all the difference."
He also thanked U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith — who attended Wednesdays event — for her co-sponsorship of the SAWMILL (Supporting American Wood and Mill Infrastructure with Loans for Longevity) Act. which permanently authorizes USDA and Interior Department loan guarantees (up to $220 million capacity) for upgrading or opening mills.
Instead of spending some $200 million, TLM has been able to get up and running for under $20 million. The Mississippi Development Authority provided help through the Mississippi Flexible Tax Incentive, or MFLEX, program, valued at $843,625. AccelerateMS and Union County also are assisting with the project.
Grasso said TLM wants to build more mills quickly, and doing that requires ramping up production in New Albany.
"We're always looking for ways to make more lumber. One of the best ways to make money is to just produce more," he said. "We're always looking for ways to increase how much we produce and how much efficiency that we can get in our sawmill."
Grasso didn't reveal where the next mill might be built but said, "in probably a few months we're going to have a big announcement ... the fact is we're going to to build more ills. Our investors and our folks that are here are backing not just one mill in New Albany, Mississippi. We're gonna be backing a business that's gonna create dozens and dozens of mills."