Trex Company making progress on $400 million composite deck manufacturing plant - Talk Business & Politics

by Roby Brock ([email protected]) August 22, 2024 12:08 pm 272 views

Trex Company’s $400 million composite decking and railing manufacturing plant at the Little Rock Port Authority is on schedule for a 2025 start to production, officials said Thursday (Aug. 22).

Representatives of Trex joined state and local economic officials on Thursday for a topping out ceremony at the plant site.

“We are thrilled to reach this important milestone in the development of our new facility,” said Trex president and CEO Bryan Fairbanks. “We continue to experience broad-based demand driven by strong consumer interest in outdoor living. This new campus will enable us to provide our customers with significantly better access to Trex products while strengthening our position for future growth.”

Fairbanks will be a guest on Talk Business & Politics this Sunday.

Situated on nearly 300 acres of land in the Port of Little Rock, the new site is Trex’s third U.S.-based manufacturing location, joining Fernley, Nevada and Winchester, Va., where the company is headquartered. When complete, the Little Rock campus will include buildings dedicated to decking and railing production, plastic film recycling and processing, reclaimed wood storage, warehousing and administrative offices.

Trex manufactures composite deck materials for residential and commercial purposes. It recycles wood and plastic as raw materials into its finished products.

Thursday’s event marked the completion of the structural framework for the composite decking production plant. Once operational, the facility will feature advanced production lines and will incorporate eco-friendly systems, practices and materials. Once it is up and running, Trex officials estimate they will hire around 500 workers. Hiring has already begun for key facility management positions and recruiting for hourly employees will begin soon.

“Great things happen when every level of government and the private sector are working on the same page. That’s what this facility represents: not just one business investing in Little Rock, but an entire network working together to make it happen,” said Gov. Sarah Sanders. “As we cut taxes and invest in our workforce, companies like Trex are only going to grow.”

“Four years after the Chamber submitted interest for what was then known confidentially as Project Treehouse, we stand with Trex to celebrate the vision of what existed then on paper, coming to life now at the Port of Little Rock,” added Jay Chesshir, president and CEO of the Little Rock Regional Chamber. “This milestone represents a collection of community partners rallying around Trex to advance the development of this significant investment.

Trex Company opened its first production lines in Virginia in 1993 with 36 employees. The company now has more than 1,700 employees worldwide and leads the industry on a global scale with a dominant share of the composite decking market in more than 6,700 retail outlets across six continents.