Anderson Thomas, president of Loblolly Industries, told a packed house at Mississippi State University’s Kahlmus Auditorium on Monday that he and his family chose to locate a new plant in Lauderdale County in large part because of its residents.

Thomas, who also serves as vice president of Shuqualak Lumber Co., said in addition to the friendliness and the quality of life enjoyed by residents of Lauderdale County, the area’s close proximity to interstates and institutions of higher learning also drew the plant to the area.

“The struggle to find additional markets led us to this process,” Thomas said. “And, what we will produce is stronger, more predictable than lumber.”

Thomas spoke to about 500 people during a plant announcement luncheon hosted by the East Mississippi Business Development Corp. He said his company looked at 49 sites in 20 counties before settling on Lauderdale County.

Construction will soon be underway on a new 335,000-square-foot plant at the G.V. “Sonny” Montgomery Industrial Park. The industry will create 140 direct jobs and more than 168 indirect jobs.

The plant is expected to open in late 2007.

When open, Loblolly Industries will produce an engineered wood product called Scrimtec. Scrimtec is the first and only structural engineered wood product made from immature pine trees.

The product is made from pine forest thinnings that are crushed and pressed into a strand-like mat. Then, the mats are dried, resinated, pressed, cut and finished into a lumber-like product.

The product is made by using the Timtek technology, and Scrimtec is its sole licensed manufacturer east of the continental divide in North America.

Scrimtec is backed by Shuqualak Lumber Co., founded in 1948, the Southeast’s largest independent supplier of Southern Yellow Pine. The engineered wood can be used in building and company officials tout it as the perfect product for window, door and garage headers.

Last year, Scrimtec accounted for 162 million cubic feet of residential building supplies, which Thomas said is only a fragment of what is used in residential building. But he said he expects the company and the technology to grow.

“The supply will not be constrained by the availability of raw materials,” he said. “Scrimtec is the future of engineered wood.”

U.S. Rep. Chip Pickering, R-Miss., attended the luncheon and congratulated the business owners on bringing the idea to fruition.

Pickering said the state allocated $10 million to assist the company in locating in Lauderdale County.

“Anderson (Thomas) found technology to win a stronger way, a better way for Mississippians to grow trees,” Pickering said. “He found an idea and against many odds, he persevered.”

Gov. Haley Barbour was scheduled to attend the event, but was unable due to the weather. He sent a note congratulating Loblolly Industries and Lauderdale County on landing the plant. Paul Barrett, chairman of the EMBDC’s board of directors, read the note to attendees.

Walter Jarck, managing director of Timtek Australia, said he developed the Timtek technology in Australia in 2000, and he believes Scrimtec will be the premiere product on the market.

State Agriculture Commissioner Lester Spell said he was a supporter of the plant from the beginning because he was concerned about the future of the state’s lumber industry.

“They looked at Maine, the West Coast and Georgia, but they decided to locate here because they realized what it would mean to the lumber industry,” Spell said.