Roseburg Forest Products has announced it is restarting construction activities at Dillard MDF, a modern new medium density fiberboard (MDF) plant at the heart of the company’s long-term growth strategy and its goal to become the leading producer of MDF products in the West.

As a cornerstone of Roseburg’s multi-year modernization and historic investment in southern Oregon, Dillard MDF will feature the latest generation Siempelkamp continuous press. This state-of-the-art technology converts wood residuals into high-density fiberboard (HDF) as well as traditional MDF panels and value-added products for construction, cabinetry and flooring markets. The new mill will be fully integrated into Roseburg’s Dillard complex to leverage its high-quality wood fiber and biomass energy production.

“We are very pleased to announce the restart of our Dillard MDF project,” says Stuart Gray, president and CEO of Roseburg Forest Products. “Dillard MDF plays a key role in our future. The plant will be one of the lowest cost producers in the world, which significantly enhances Roseburg’s long-term competitive position in composite panels in the West specifically and North America in general.”

Roseburg paused the project in early 2025 in response to uncertainty in the economy, volatile market conditions, and potential Oregon state policy shifts that would undermine the project’s viability.

Roseburg expects to employ more than 140 people at the new MDF plant when operations begin in late 2028. The fiberboard press at Dillard MDF will be installed on the same footprint as the first press supplied by Siempelkamp to Roseburg more than 50 years ago. In addition to its mill in Medford, Ore., Roseburg currently produces MDF products in El Dorado, Ark., and Pembroke, Ont., Canada.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service has announced up to $95 million in competitive grant funding through its Wood Innovations program for projects that advance innovative wood uses, expand wood-based construction, and grow U.S. wood energy markets and forest product processing capacity.

“A strong timber industry is essential for active forest management and the vitality of rural economies,” says Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz. “By supporting mills and markets that transform forest byproducts into valuable goods, we strengthen domestic manufacturing, reduce wildfire risks, and generate well-paying jobs across rural America.”

Funding is available through three Forest Service grant programs: the Wood Innovations Grant, Community Wood Grant, and Wood Products Infrastructure Assistance Grant programs. Together, these programs support projects that develop innovative wood products; increase the use of wood in commercial and residential construction; expand wood energy systems, and modernize, retrofit, or increase the capacity of wood products manufacturing facilities.

Eligible applicants include private businesses, for-profit and non-profit organizations, tribes, state and local governments, institutions of higher education, and public utility, fire, conservation, and school districts.

Businesses engaged in or supporting the forest products economy—which is vital to many rural and tribal communities—may apply for funding to expand manufacturing capacity. Final grant funding levels will be subject to the availability of funds. 

Visit www.fs.usda.gov.

Weyerhaeuser Co. hosted an Investor Day in December and outlined the company’s strategic growth plan and financial targets through 2030.

“Weyerhaeuser stands alone in the timberlands, wood products and land solutions space as the only large cap, integrated investment opportunity poised for accelerated growth,” says Devin Stockfish, President and CEO. “Over the next five years, we intend to catalyze growth initiatives across the entirety of our integrated portfolio to significantly grow the value and cash generation capabilities of our company and further strengthen our competitive position.”

The growth plan is expected to deliver $1.5 billion of incremental Adjusted EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization) by 2030, measured against a 2024 baseline, and includes $1 billion of Adjusted EBITDA uplift from identified growth initiatives. The remaining $500 million of uplift reflects a modest improvement in product pricing during the period, which the company views as a conservative estimate. Identified growth initiatives span the entirety of Weyerhaeuser’s portfolio and include the following expected contributions above the 2024 baseline: • $440 million from Wood Products • $230 million from Strategic Land Solutions, including $170 million of uplift from Climate Solutions business • $180 million from enterprise initiatives • $150 million from Timberlands

Steve Swanson, CEO & Executive Chairman of the Swanson Group, and recently named the Timber Processing 2026 Person of the Year, has for the second time assumed the role of Chairman of the U.S. Lumber Coalition.

Under Swanson’s prior leadership of the U.S. Lumber Coalition, the organization implemented structural changes that yielded today’s organization. These changes sharpened the focus of the organization to better address Canada’s unfair trade practices using all available tools under U.S. law. As a result, the Coalition has been able to produce unprecedented results for its membership and the U.S. forestry industry following the organization’s most successful set of trade cases under the U.S. trade laws. Swanson was previously Chairman of the U.S. Lumber Coalition from 2005 through 2012.

“I would like to thank Andrew Miller for his great leadership of the U.S. Lumber Coalition over the last four years through some challenging times, all the while pressing the organization unyieldingly forward in its mission to address Canada’s unfair softwood lumber trade practices,” Swanson states. “Much has changed since I last served as Chairman of the U.S. Lumber Coalition. Canada’s unfair trade practices that are driven by its excess lumber capacity and unfair government subsidies unfortunately have not.”

Swanson adds, “I applaud President Trump’s stated policies of strictly and strongly enforcing our U.S. antidumping and countervailing trade laws and for taking additional steps under Section 232 to further boost Made in U.S.A. softwood lumber production and U.S. workers. This is critically important because the simple fact is that if we allow Canada’s massive softwood lumber overcapacity and associated unfair trade practices to destroy our U.S. softwood lumber production capacity and supply, then good luck building homes in America.”

Swanson’s longstanding commitment to lumber fair trade and to Oregon’s rural economy, and his leadership at Roseburg-based Swanson Group were major reasons why he was chosen for the TP POY honor. Swanson Group operates a sawmill at Roseburg, plywood plants at Glendale and Springfield and a pellet mill in Oakland, Ore., while employing more than 1,200.

Swanson will accept the TP POY award during a ceremony at 3 p.m. on September 23 during the Timber Processing & Energy Expo held September 23-25 at the Portland Expo Center, Portland, Ore.