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SHAWANO COUNTY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Loan funds will assist in the reopening of a Shawano County sawmill.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Monday that $115.2 million has been awarded across eight states through the Timber Production and Expansion Guaranteed Loan Program (TPEP). Officials say this funding will ensure sawmills and other wood processing facilities have the necessary funding to establish, reopen, expand or improve their operations.
Two projects in Wisconsin are among the recipients, including the Timber Professionals Cooperative Enterprises. According to a news release, the $800,000 loan will support the reopening of a sawmill Shawano County by enabling TPCE to purchase equipment and more than 49 acres of real estate.
The equipment will allow the sawmill to improve the efficiency of manufacturing wood chips. The project also includes plans to expand capabilities of the site to manufacture new, higher-value products from the same raw materials. The project will create six jobs, with additional staffing added as the sawmill expands, the release states.
“USDA is committed to timber industry innovations that improve forest health and reduce wildfire threats while creating good-paying jobs for people in rural, forest-dependent communities in Wisconsin,” said USDA Rural Development Wisconsin State Director Andrew Iverson in the release.
The funding that is being announced nationally today will support projects in Wisconsin that are a win for Wisconsin’s economy, consumers who want American-made products and forest management.
The Timber Production Expansion Guaranteed Loan Program is made possible by a partnership between the USDA Rural Development and the U.S. Forest Service. The program helps address the American wildfire crisis by investing in local sawmills that clear out dangerous fuel in our forestlands, helping to remove the most immediate threats to communities, critical infrastructure and natural resources.
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