Trex Co. of Winchester, Virginia, which manufactures composite decking, will invest $400 million in a plant that will employ 500 people at the Little Rock Port in Arkansas.
The plant will be Trex’s third U.S. manufacturing facility. The company said the 290-acre site eventually will include buildings dedicated to decking and railing production, plastic film recycling and processing, reclaimed wood storage, warehousing, and administrative offices. Construction is scheduled to begin in early 2022 with production beginning in 2024.
“This new site represents a strategic investment not only in our company’s future but in the future success of our valued channel partners,” Trex president and CEO Bryan Fairbanks said in a news release. “With the outdoor living category continuing to show strong momentum and our success to-date in converting share from the wood decking market, the time is right to further expand our capacity so that we can meet future customer demand efficiently and effectively.”
The new plant should increase the company’s ability to meet “anticipated strong demand” for its decking and railing products. Fairbanks expects it will become “our largest operating facility in time as well” because the acreage at the port offers the company room to grow.
Trex composite decking is made from 95 percent recycled materials, including a mix of reclaimed wood scrap and discarded plastic film. It is one of the largest recyclers of polyethylene in North America.
Trex opened its first production lines in Virginia in 1993 with 36 employees. It now has more than 1,700 employees worldwide. Its decking products are available in more than 6,700 retail outlets in more than 40 countries.
