Written By: Dan Shell
I was working on a story for the March issue of PW about level of investment activity and capital projects in the panel industry when the announcement that Swanson was going to rebuild its Springfield plywood plant came in. That’s great news—and definitely adds to the level of capital investment in the panel industry. I had visited the plant in February 09 two years after Swanson had acquired it and also made several big investments in the facility before it burned last summer. During a visit to the West Coast last August several panel industry players I spoke with said they were keenly interested in what Swanson would do with the facility. Now that it’s been officially announced, many in industry know a key veneer customer and supplier will still be there. The Swanson Group is the kind of family-owned, independent forest products company that represents the heart and soul best of what this industry can be, and I wish Steve Swanson and his companies all the best in bringing the new facility on line.
