FINLAND (News release) -- Trex Company plans to develop a new multi-faceted production site in Little Rock, Arkansas. Trex believes the new production complex, to be located within the Port of Little Rock, should increase the company's ability to meet the anticipated strong demand for its industry-leading decking and railing products. Based on the company's search parameters, Little Rock emerged as the best fit for Trex's immediate and future needs with a location closer to essential raw materials, a strong pool of qualified and skilled labor, proximity to key growth regions for wood conversion, and adjacency to major transportation hubs that will offer optimized freight costs for customers in the middle of the country who are presently served by existing facilities in Virginia and Nevada.

"This new site represents a strategic investment not only in our company's future but in the future success of our valued channel partners," said Trex Company President and CEO Bryan Fairbanks. "With the outdoor living category continuing to show strong momentum and our success to-date in converting share from the wood decking market, the time is right to further expand our capacity so that we can meet future customer demand efficiently and effectively."

Trex expects to invest an estimated $400 million over the next five years in the development of the new Arkansas site, funded primarily through ongoing cash generation. The Trex campus will sit on nearly 300 acres of land and will eventually include buildings dedicated to decking and railing production, plastic film recycling and processing, reclaimed wood storage, warehousing and administrative offices.

Construction is slated to begin in early 2022. The development approach will be modular and calibrated to demand trends with the first production output anticipated in 2024. The campus will substantially expand output and will have the potential to be the company's largest manufacturing facility.

Over time, Trex will bring more than 500 new jobs to the Little Rock area. The company will be interviewing candidates for key positions starting this fall and will broaden its recruiting efforts for both salaried and hourly positions in spring 2022.

Trex Company, Inc. is the world's largest manufacturer of high performance wood-alternative decking and railing.