Huber Announces Plans for a

New Mill in Cohasset

 

Confirming rumors that had circulated for months, specialty building products manufacturer Huber Engineered Woods announced it will build a new oriented strand board (OSB) facility in Cohasset.

 

Huber is headquartered in Charlotte, NC and manufactures structural panels used for sheathing, subflooring, roofing, and other products.  The Cohasset mill will be the company’s sixth in the US, joining facilities in Maine, Virginia, Tennessee, Oklahoma, and Georgia.

 

During the meeting, IRRRB meeting confirmed the plant would employ 158 folks and need 150 logging trucks per day delivering wood.  The presentation indicated the mill would use roughly 400,000 to 500,000 cords per year.

 

The major species used will be aspen.

 

The mill site is 400 acres, and is at the intersection of State Hwys 2 and 6 in Cohasset, adjacent to Minnesota Power’s Clay Boswell facility.  Construction is expected to begin during first quarter next year (2022).  Before construction can begin, environmental permits will have to be secured.  But the legislature is expected to approve a provision allowing site preparation to begin even before the permits are issued.

 

The city of Cohasset, Itasca County, and the state Department of Employment and Economic Development are also collaborating on this project.  The total cost is $439 million, the vast majority provided by Huber.

 

The project hopes to be operational and purchasing wood by 1st or 2nd quarter of 2023.

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From TPA President Rod Enberg: