Moving Forward

Adapting an old lumber mill to a new purpose will bring new jobs and new revenue to northern St. Landry Parish. Importantly, it relies on an abundant and renewable resource.

LeMoyen Mill and Timber LLC plans to buy the mill on U.S. Highway 71 that had been run by Bayou State Lumber Co., and will invest some $2 million into the facility to convert it into a wood products plant that will assemble laminated mats.

LeMoyen, a wholly owned subsidiary of Adobe Machinery Group, will create 32 new direct jobs with an average salary of $35,000 a year plus benefits, and will keep 20 workers from the Bayou State operation. Additionally, the Louisiana Department of Economic Development estimates that the project will create 35 indirect jobs in the area.

Adobe CEO Robert W. Latimer said the new company will also buy Bayou State’s standing timber, cut logs, saw boards, and timber and use them in creating its wood products, principally for distribution by another Adobe company, American Mat and 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,” Latimer said.

He indicated that the company may expand the LeMoyen mill in the future.

“In all 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.

Discussions about the project began in September, according to St. Landry Parish President Bill Fontenot, who said that from the outset “it was apparent that Adobe has created a very successful business culture that would be a great fit in St. Landry Parish.”

St. Landry 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.”

The Louisiana Department of Economic Development and One Acadiana worked with St. Landry Economic Development officials in bringing the new project to the parish.

Gov. John Bel Edwards, who participated in the announcement, noted that the timber industry plays an important role in the state’s economy, and that, importantly, it is “built on a renewable resource that extends through every region of our state.”

According to the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, “This renewable resource provides the raw material for Louisiana’s second largest manufacturing employer – the forest products industry – with over 900 firms in 45 parishes directly employing over 25,000 people. An additional 8,000 people are employed in the harvesting and transportation of the resource.”

In 2014, the latest year for which LSU AgCenter data is available, forestry brought nearly $966 million to the state, with more than $5 million of that total in St. Landry.