A New Limerick mill that produces wood siding and trim products celebrated a grand opening of its newly-converted mill today, the $150 million project part of its parent company’s nationwide expansion plan.

Louisiana-Pacific Corporation, based in Nashville, officially announced the facility’s expansion back in February 2022. According to a company statement, the work is part of a multi-year plan for the company to ramp up its siding production nationwide. The LP Houlton Mill is the first stage of that plan.

"We will always take care of our customers, which is why siding capacity expansion projects, like our conversion of LP Houlton, are incredibly strategic and important to LP," the company’s executive vice president Jason Ringblom, said in a May 3 release about the expansion.

According to a study released in October 2021, Maine’s timber industry had economic impacts totaling $8 billion and 32,000 jobs in 2019 alone. According to the study, 5,225 of those employees work in Aroostook County.  

Information from the U.S. Census Bureau shows new home construction efforts nationwide show no signs of slowing down. According to new data released earlier this month by the Census and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, there were 1.67 million private building permits issued nationwide in July 2022, which is 1.1% higher than the 1.65 million reported in July 2021. 

Sen. Susan Collins and Gov. Janet Mills attended Wednesday’s grand opening at the LP Houlton Mill, and congratulated the company on its expansion..

“For decades, workers at LP Houlton have produced Maine-made building materials used in homes across the nation and around the world. LP Houlton’s conversion will continue that proud legacy with the manufacture of LP’s signature building products, all while benefitting the local supply chain,” Mills said.  

The expansion, according to a statement from Mills, adds about 220 million square feet of operating capacity to the mill, making enough siding for 100,000 more homes annually.

The mill, according to a statement from Mills, employs about 160 people.