Trex To Build $400 Million Production Facility At Port Of Little Rock
Trex, a company that makes wood-alternative and composite decking, railing and other products, announced October 26 that is has chosen the Port of Little Rock, Ark., for the location of its next investment, where it plans to invest $400 million over five years to create up to 500 jobs.
The Little Rock Port Authority Board of Directors met recently via Zoom in a specially called meeting to approve a resolution authorizing Executive Director Bryan Day to negotiate terms on land and rail use by the company. The port will convey 290 acres to Trex to build out their facility. The company must meet certain benchmarks regarding construction timeline, total employment and the usage of rail cars.
“This is a great day to be a member of the Little Rock Port Authority Board of Directors,” said chairman Joe Bailey. “We are proud of the partnerships the port has built with Gov. [Asa] Hutchinson, the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce, Pulaski County Judge Barry Hyde and the city of Little Rock.”
The deal was made possible by the port’s land acquisition due to ongoing investment by the city of Little Rock. The port purchased the land and is now able to use it for economic development projects. The company has guaranteed a minimum number of rail cars, which will help the port’s ongoing budget for the next two decades. Additional funds from the state of Arkansas and Pulaski County will add new road and railway infrastructure to the area.
The Trex campus will sit on nearly 300 acres of land and will eventually include buildings dedicated to decking and railing production, plastic film recycling and processing, reclaimed wood storage, warehousing and administrative offices.
Construction is slated to begin in early 2022.
The company, which said it continues to experience “broad-based demand driven by increasing consumer interest in outdoor living,” believes that building a third U.S.-based manufacturing facility should enable it to provide customers significantly better access to Trex residential products where and when they need them and position the company for future growth.
“This new site represents a strategic investment not only in our company’s future but in the future success of our valued channel partners,” said Trex President and CEO Bryan Fairbanks. “With the outdoor living category continuing to show strong momentum and our success to-date in converting share from the wood decking market, the time is right to further expand our capacity so that we can meet future customer demand efficiently and effectively.”
Little Rock emerged as the best fit for Trex’s immediate and future needs with a location closer to essential raw materials, a strong pool of qualified and skilled labor, proximity to key growth regions for wood conversion and adjacency to major transportation hubs that will offer optimized freight costs for customers in the middle of the country who are presently served by existing facilities in Virginia and Nevada.
