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Brief
Construction officially started Monday on a new $110 million sawmill in Plain Dealing that its owner says will create 125 new jobs in the region. Gov. John Bel Edwards attended a ground breaking for the project that is expected to be completed in third-quarter 2023.
The Teal-Jones Group, a company based in British Columbia, Canada, is building the southern yellow pine lumber plant. It also has U.S. operations in Mississippi and Virginia.
Louisiana Economic Development (LED) reports the average annual salary for the new sawmill jobs will be $47,000. The agency estimates the plant will also support another 369 indirect new jobs and 120 workers at peak construction.
The state offered Teal-Jones the services of the LED FastStart workforce development program for recruitment and training. The company is also expected to apply for the state’s Quality Jobs program that offers a rebate on payroll taxes. It also plans to pursue a payment in lieu of taxes, or PILOT, agreement with local taxing entities for property taxes.
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