When the history of economic development in Lowndes County is discussed, the story usually begins with the arrival of Severstal/Steel Dynamics and PACCAR in the western part of the county. The steel mill began operations in 2007 while PACCAR opened in 2010.
It’s easy to understand their role in the origin story of the county’s economic development. They were anchors of what would become a large and diverse manufacturing base near the airport and were very much a part of successful efforts to recruit new manufacturing that continues today.
But there is a company that predated the steel mill in the county by 25 years, one whose importance to the community compares favorably to all that would come after it.
Since 1982, Weyerhaeuser and its successors have been an important economic driver, providing generations of jobs, millions of dollars in local and school taxes and charitable giving.
On Tuesday, Kellum Hawk, the company’s communications manager, and Steve Rogers, the company’s mill manager, provided the Columbus Rotary Club a reminder of the company’s historic and continuing importance to the community.
The Weyerhaeuser pulp mill was the first blockbuster capital project in the county with an initial investment of $750 million, which is equal to $2.5 billion in today’s dollars. At the time what manufacturing existed in the county was found in the Columbus city limits. Weyerhauser, as one of the very few industries located outside the city limits, was an instant infusion of revenue for county government and schools.
It changed the trajectory of what the unincorporated area of Lowndes County would become.
The company didn’t just survive, it thrived, as evidenced by International Paper’s $2 billion purchase in 2016. When IP took over, there were concerns that the new owners would not live up to Weyerhaeuser’s reputation of stable employment and charitable giving, a tradition that continued under IP. American Industrial Partners, a private equity firm that specializes in investing in and growing industrial and manufacturing businesses, purchased the operations in January at a cost of $1.5 billion.
Over more than four decades, ultimately, Weyerhaeuser/IP set a high bar for what a “good corporate neighbor” looks like in Lowndes County through hundreds of thousands in community grants and large investment in the county education and infrastructure. They paid strong wages, protected the local timber supply chain and left behind an incredibly well-respected economic anchor for American Industrial Partners (AIP) to steward moving forward.
It set a standard for what economic development could be at a time when it mostly stood alone.
That legacy has passed to AIP, along with our hope that they will embrace the same corporate responsibility that has benefitted this community for more than 40 years.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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