Nearly $5 million upgrade will keep Upper Peninsula sawmill open

A $4.75 million investment will keep the doors open at an Upper Peninsula lumber facility and retain dozens of jobs in the region.

Northern Hardwoods Lumber announced plans last week to upgrade its sawmill in Houghton County by installing a new biomass boiler and back-pressure steam turbine. The multimillion dollar investment will protect 85 jobs and help lower operating costs and greenhouse gas emissions at the sawmill.

Without the investment, the facility would have to close its doors at the end of the boiler’s lifecycle.

“Northern Hardwoods continues its long history of providing good paying jobs through the processing of some of Michigan’s highest value timber from the hardwood forests of the Upper Peninsula,” said Jeff Ratcliffe, Executive Director of the Keweenaw Economic Development Alliance.

The project is being supported by both the state and federal governments.

The Michigan Strategic Fund awarded Northern Hardwoods Lumber a $250,000 grant last week and the U.S. Department of Agriculture previously gave the company a $1 million grant through a program that promotes using wood as a construction material and expanding the lumber market.

Built in 1969, Northern Hardwoods, is a hardwood sawmill that currently produces 20 million board feet a year. It was acquired by JM Longyear, a privately held Upper Peninsula company, in 2015 and has locations in Niles and Newberry.

“The project to install a new biomass boiler and steam turbine will enable us to continue operations, retain our talented workforce, and further utilize the renewable resources that the Upper Peninsula of Michigan offers,” said a statement from Cody Meier, Director of Financial Planning & Analysis at JM Longyear.

In addition to Northern Hardwoods, another Upper Peninsula investment is getting state funding.

Cedar Street Real Estate plans to invest $820,000 redeveloping a former bank in downtown Manistique. The vacant building will be restored and transformed into a mixed-use space with three residential apartments with the help of a $250,000 grant from the Michigan Strategic Fund.

Developers Kristina Behrens and Antonio Adan said the project will provide “much-needed housing” in Manistique’s commercial corridor.

“This building had been on the market a couple years ago, and when we visited, we were immediately drawn to the potential of the floor plan and the beautiful features of the building. The mixed-use development will enable patrons to enjoy a more pedestrian-friendly downtown area,” they said in a statement.

Both of these projects total over $5.5 million of investment in the Upper Peninsula.