by Capital spending initiative is largely in new equipment for advanced manufacturing of laminate products
LINWOOD, N.C. — Egger Wood Products, a producer of particleboard and decorative laminates and other wood materials for the furniture industry, is in the midst of a $21.5 million expansion here that is adding 21 new jobs.
The investment is largely in equipment used for what’s called a paper impregnation line that prepares decorative paper laminates to be fused onto a piece of particleboard with resin. This ultimately creates a nonporous solid sealed surface for particleboard materials used in residential and hospitality furniture.
The laminates Egger works with range from solid colors to reproductions of wood species that mimic grain patterns, knots and even cracks in the wood. In addition to a wide color palette, this gives the materials the look of real wood for use in various design applications.
The products it makes are sold to furniture fabricators that sell product for both the residential market as well as hospitality furniture for hotels and resorts.
By investing in the new equipment for the Linwood plant, the company will make these products on site, and thus will avoid having to order various panels from other manufacturers, including Egger’s own facilities around the world. Controlling its own supply of materials will help the company to achieve greater flexibility and efficiency, which in turn will help it shorten lead times.
Based in Tyrol, Austria, Egger Wood Products began construction on the Linwood facility in April 2018 and began production there in September 2020. Its 1 million-square-foot facility is one of 21 around the world and its first in North America.
This latest expansion, which is supported in part by a $100,000 grant from the N.C. Department of Commerce, began in May and is expected to be complete later this summer. The 21 new jobs will bring its headcount to around 490 workers.
When the Linwood plant was first announced in summer 2017, it was expected to create as many as 770 jobs in its first 15 years of operation. It appears that the company — as it embarks on this latest growth initiative — is well on its way to meeting that ambitious goal.
