By KERRY BEAN

A lumber products facility in Evergreen that has been closed for four will reopen immediately, with plans to hire 100 new employees by the end of next year, Weyerhauser announced Friday.

The company plans to re-start production on its Trus Joist TJI joists and Microllam LVL lines in Evergreen, effective immediately.

Company officials said Weyerhauser will invest capital in the engineered lumber products facility, which closed four years ago because of demand for wood products in North America declined.

Robert “Bob” Doll has been selected as plant manager and will be on site effective Aug. 30.

“Customer demand for engineered wood products has improved over the last year, and our Evergreen facility is the ideal location to add production capacity of our Trus Joist TJI Joists and Microllam LVL building products,” Jan Marrs, manufacturing manager for Weyerhaeuser Engineered Lumber Products, said in a statement. “With our markets improving and positive support from both the state and local community, we are looking forward to re-starting this facility.”

Local officials welcomed the positive news for the community and the economy.

“We are thrilled to welcome Weyerhaeuser back to Conecuh County. Weyerhaeuser is an excellent company and bringing this plant back on line will have an extraordinarily positive impact on the entire region,” said Coastal Gateway Regional Economic Development Alliance Chairman Larry Woods.

David Stokes, chairman of the Escambia County Commission, said he has spoken with Weyerhauser officials to welcome them back to the area.

“It’s outstanding news,” he said. “When you see these signs happening, it shows we’re on an uptick (in the economy).”

David Cook, chairman of the Conecuh County Commission, said the Evergreen facility competed with several sites in the country for the project.

“The Conecuh County Commission, staff of the Evergreen/ Conecuh County Economic Development Office, and the Coastal Gateway staff worked tirelessly to bring this project to the region,” he said.

The Evergreen Trus Joist facility was acquired by Weyerhaeuser in 2000 and has an estimated annual production of 2 million cubic feet of Microllam LVL and 120 million lineal feet of TJI Joists.

In Alabama, Weyerhaeuser also operates a lumber manufacturing facility in Millport, a Nursery Tree Improvement Center in Camden and it sustainably manages more than 547,000 acres of timberland in 23 counties.