Wood products manufacturing plant redevelopment announced

Gov. John Bel Edwards and CEO Robert W. Latimer of Adobe Machinery Group, LLC, announced LeMoyen Mill & Timber LLC will acquire and invest an additional $2 million to develop a wood products manufacturing facility in LeMoyen, according to a news release from the Louisiana Economic Development.
LeMoyen Mill & Timber, a wholly owned subsidiary of Adobe Machinery Group, will repurpose a lumber mill previously operated by Bayou State Lumber Co. The new company will acquire both standing timber and cut logs, saw boards and timbers and then assemble timber and laminated mats at the facility.
LeMoyen Mill & Timber will create 32 new direct jobs, with an average annual salary of $35,000, plus benefits, while retaining 20 jobs from the Bayou State Lumber operation. Louisiana Economic Development estimates the project also will result in 35 new indirect jobs, for a total or more than 65 new jobs in St. Landry Parish and the Acadiana Region.
“We welcome LeMoyen Mill & Timber to St. Landry Parish, and we appreciate the company’s interest in a manufacturing operation that will create 32 new direct jobs while retaining additional jobs,” Edwards said.
The mill site is located near U.S. 71 in northern St. Landry Parish, with access to the Union Pacific Railroad line.
“We are very excited about the LeMoyen mill and facilities along with their core team of dedicated and talented personnel,” Latimer said. “The mill, with its production capacity and immense hardwood lumber storage, brings tremendous integration opportunities to our mat distribution company, American Mat & Timber. St. Landry Parish, with its abundance of hardwood resources and its proximity to our branch locations, our customers, and rail and major waterways, is the perfect spot for us. We also look forward to working further with the Louisiana Economic Development team to expand our operations, not only at the LeMoyen mill but also in other areas of Louisiana. In all of our businesses, we have always placed our employees, our communities and our customers first and we look forward to doing the same in St. Landry Parish.”
“After meeting with key company officials on this project, it was apparent that Adobe has created a very successful business culture that would be a great fit in St. Landry Parish and Acadiana,” St. Landry Parish President Bill Fontenot said.
St. Landry Parish Economic Development Director Bill Rodier described the project as “a great example of how exciting things can come from local, regional and state-level economic development professionals effectively working together to bring great companies to Louisiana.”
LeMoyen Mill & Timber was formed to acquire and operate the land, buildings, and machinery and equipment of the sawmill located in LeMoyen. The facility comprises more than 190 acres with two rail spurs, more than 431,000 square feet of buildings, including three sawmills, and another 200,000 square feet of covered storage.
American Mat & Timber was formed more than 30 years ago and has become a primary supplier of laminated and timber mats to the construction, petrochemical and energy industries. The company is headquartered in Houston, with branches in Nederland and Corpus Christi, Texas, and Port Allen, Louisiana, and it will open a branch soon in Lake Charles.
Since 1995, the principals of Adobe Machinery Group of San Antonio, Texas, have owned and operated major heavy equipment dealerships, material handling dealerships, heavy- and medium-duty truck dealerships, heavy equipment service companies, and financing and leasing companies. American Mat & Timber and LeMoyen Mill & Timber are wholly owned subsidiaries of Adobe Machinery Group