Barrel stave maker adds 300,000-sq-ft plant, 73 jobs in Virginia
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ST. PAUL, Va. - Rambler Wood Products will invest $7.6 million to convert a former Bush Furniture Industries building into a state-of-the-art 300,000-square-foot manufacturing plant.
 
Rambler will convert white oak into barrel staves for the West Virginia Barrel Co. and other regional cooperages at the plant. The facility will also produce dimensional lumber from red oak and lower value hardwoods. 
 
The facility will make Rambler the first business of its kind to operate entirely indoors, allowing for year-round production, the company says. 
 
Rambler will source at least 55 percent of its timber from the state of Virginia for the new plant. It also will support regional loggers and forestland owners through the purchase of $22.3 million worth of Virginia-grown hardwoods over the next three years.
 
Rambler received a $2.5 million grant from the Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority to help with the facility acquisition.

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Robert Dalheim

Robert Dalheim is an editor at the Woodworking Network. Along with publishing online news articles, he writes feature stories for the FDMC print publication. He can be reached at [email protected].