Decking extruder Trex to build new manufacturing plant in Arkansas

Plastic decking extruder Trex Co. Inc. has announced plans to invest US$400 million to build a new production site in Little Rock, Ark.

The five-year project will create 500 jobs; when complete, the Little Rock site will be Trex’s third manufacturing facility in the U.S.

“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 an Oct. 26 statement. “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 officials said that Little Rock emerged as “the best fit” for the new plant because of its close location to essential raw materials, strong pool of qualified and skilled labour, proximity to key growth regions for wood conversion, and adjacency to major transportation hubs for customers in the middle of the country who are presently served by Trex’s existing facilities in Virginia and Nevada.

Headquartered in Winchester, Va., Trex opened its first production lines in 1993. The company now employs approximately 1,700 workers worldwide., and has products available in more than 6,700 retail outlets across 40 countries.