Trex Company announced plans to develop a multi-faceted production site in Little Rock, Ark. The company said it believes its third U.S.-based manufacturing facility should enable Trex to provide customers significantly better access to Trex residential products and position Trex for future growth.
“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 Company president and CEO Bryan Fairbanks said. “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.”
Trex said Little Rock emerged as the best fit for the company’s immediate and future needs due to its proximity to essential raw materials, a strong pool of qualified and skilled labor, proximity to key growth regions for wood conversion, and adjacency to major transportation hubs that will offer optimized freight costs for midwest customers currently serviced by Trex’s existing facilities in Virginia and Nevada. The company said adding capacity also positions Trex to better serve its distribution and retail partners domestically and abroad.
Trex said it plans to invest an estimated $400 million over the next five years in the development of the new Arkansas site, primarily funded through ongoing cash generation. The new development will sit on nearly 300 acres of land and will eventually include buildings dedicated to decking and railing products, plastic film recycling and processing, reclaimed wood storage, warehousing, and administrative offices. Construction in Little Rock is slated to begin in early 2022 with the first production output anticipated in 2024. Trex said it plans to bring more than 500 new jobs to the Little Rock area over time.
“This is an exciting day for the city of Little Rock and all of central Arkansas,” Gov. Asa Hutchinson said. “Trex is highly regarded as the world’s premier composite decking company, and it is with great pleasure that we welcome them to Arkansas. The company was looking at several locations, but Arkansas stood out thanks to its dedicated workforce, competitive business environment, location, and superb quality of life. The jobs created by Trex will significantly enhance our economic climate, and I look forward to watching Trex grow and succeed in the coming years.”
Fairbanks said having multiple manufacturing sites affords the company flexibility with demand and helps mitigate risk while providing bandwidth to pursue new opportunities.
Winchester, Va.-based Trex Company offers its decking and railing products through a network of building products distributors and dealers across the United States. The company’s products are sold at more than 6,700 retail locations.
