Roastwood Materials, Inc. to locate innovative production facilities in Quitman

ATLANTA, November 7, 2007 – Lumber's going green as Roastwood Materials, Inc., an innovative start-up that manufactures wood products, sets up shop in Brooks County. The company plans to hire 52 over three years and invest $2.5 million in their new headquarters and manufacturing facilities in Quitman.

'Georgia is a proud cultivator of entrepreneurship, and we're glad to welcome an inventive start-up like Roastwood Materials,' said Ken Stewart, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development. 'Bringing green technology to the lumber industry is a perfect marriage of Georgia's assets and we hope to see this sector grow in our state.'

Roastwood Materials plans to locate its headquarters, fabrication building and production kiln, totaling 13,000 square feet, in the Brooks County Industrial Park in early 2008. A separate eco-friendly sawmill facility is planned but a site has not yet been selected.

The company is the sole licensee of an environmentally friendly, chemical-free process to treat wood using high temperatures. The resulting construction lumber—first of its kind in the Western Hemisphere— will have no water, sap or nutrients, keeping insects and rot at bay. The initial product will be chemical-free decking. Other types of construction lumber will follow as the factory reaches full production.

'Brooks County, with its proximity to interstates and rail service, is the perfect location to start producing kiln-dried lumber for the construction industry,' said Jerry Walden, president of Roastwood Materials. 'Our company is part of the 'Green Evolution' and we'll be producing building products for the 21st century right here in South Georgia.'

'We are very excited to welcome Roastwood Materials into our community,' said Buddy Holwell, chairman of the Brooks County Development Authority. 'Roastwood is the first industry to locate in our new industrial park and this is just the first step in creating new jobs and opportunities for the citizens of Brooks County.'

Michelle Shaw of the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) was the project manager.

GDEcD is the state's sales and marketing arm, the lead agency for attracting new business investment, encouraging the expansion of existing industry and small businesses, locating new markets for Georgia products, attracting tourists to Georgia, and promoting the state as a location for film, video and music projects, as well as planning and mobilizing state resources for economic development.